A Rose By Any Other Name  CMNCIS Crossover
by Tigereye77
Summary: With the rest of the BAU team in Montana, Prentiss is doing a solo consult with NCIS and finds herself easily connecting with Team Gibbs and their gruff leader. Takes place right after Demonology.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: And here is my crossover with NCIS. This is really a Prentiss story. It's set right after "Demonology" and Emily's relationship with Hotch and some of her teammates isn't at its best since she's feeling they didn't back her up during Matthew's investigation like they normally would each other. And on the NCIS side, this is set in season 7, after they've rescued Ziva in Somalia. I'm also thinking this is going to be a multiple story arc, but not as long as my "Reckoning" arc. In fact, I'm thinking this is likely going to follow a different timeline from that storyline, an alternative reality where Team Gibbs are friends with Emily. Basically, I feel Emily needs more friends and I think Team Gibbs would likely understand the whole Doyle thing a lot better than Team Hotch would. And while I am definitely a Hotch/Prentiss shipper, there's going to be a little something something going on between Prentiss and Gibbs. Not a romance though there might be romantic overtones, because really, who isn't curious to see a jealous Hotch?**

"I'm calling in additional help."

Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, or NCIS, glared at his director.

"I've got it covered, Leon," the older agent replied, his cold, blue gaze unwavering.

"It's been three weeks and your team has no leads and haven't had any for the past 10 days," Vance shot back. "I've asked the Director of the FBI to send over one of their profilers to us. He's promised us one of their best. Someone from their A Team."

"Who?"

"An Emily Prentiss. Supposed to be on their most elite team. Her immediate supervisor is an Aaron Hotchner."

"So why aren't we getting the head honcho?" Not that it really mattered to Gibbs. As soon as it was possible he was going to ditch this Bureau scrub so he could run his investigation his way.

"She was on vacation and the rest of her team is already on a case in," Vance checked his notes. "Montana." He gave Gibbs a hard look. "Play nice, Gibbs. You might find yourself learning a thing or two. I hear these BAU profilers are worth listening too."

Gibbs snorted and stormed out of Vance's office without another word. As soon as he was in a quiet hallway, he pulled out his cell phone and made a call.

"Fornell," he said.

"What do you want this time, Gibbs?" sighed the other man.

"Can't one friend call another to say 'hi'?" Gibbs asked innocently.

"Sure, but we aren't friends."

The NCIS agent cracked a smile at that. "I want to hear what you know about a BAU team run by an Agent Hotchner."

"Hotchner and his team? I hear good things. He runs a tight ship over there. He's a bit of a hard ass and probably too by the book for your taste. Pretty humorless. There's been some whispering about some funny stuff with his team, but that might be because his unit supervisor has it in for him."

"What kind of whispering?"

"Well, they lost two of their agents recently. Both up and resigned. One obviously burnt out. Gideon. Work got to be too much for him, but it's understandable considering what these guys see day in and day out."

"And the other one?"

Fornell hesitated. "This one was a little less clear. The agent had been seriously wounded a few months before and then was involved in a shooting with a suspect they couldn't get enough evidence on."

"Vigilante?"

"She was cleared, but Hotchner ordered a psych evaluation. It was obvious he didn't trust her anymore, but wasn't willing to completely dump her. She resigned anyway. Then there were rumors one of his other team members might have a drug problem."

"That wouldn't be an Emily Prentiss?"

"Prentiss? Why are you asking about Prentiss?" Gibbs could hear the curiosity in Fornell's voice.

"She's advising on a case. Just found out about it."

Fornell whistled. "Lucky dog!"

Gibbs pulled his phone away from his ear and stared at it. "Care to explain?"

"You'll know what I mean when you see her. Only thing is, she's not a red-head so not exactly your type, but when you see those big brown eyes of hers, you'll realize it won't matter."

"I'm not interested in her eyes, Fornell," Gibbs snapped out.

"You will be. But I've only heard good things about her aside from the usual jealous, catty stuff when a beautiful woman is involved and her unit is made up of red-blooded men."

Gibbs grunted. "People saying she slept her way to the top?"

He couldn't see it, but Gibbs knew Fornell was shrugging. "That and it doesn't help that she's an Ambassador's daughter."

"Wait, she's Elizabeth Prentiss' daughter?"

"That's the one. Not like her mother. A lot more down to Earth. Funny too. I've talked to her a few times and consulted once on a case. Smart. She might even put you in your place, Gibbs."

Gibbs' response was only a snort.

* * *

><p>Emily's phone rang as she slammed her front door shut. She sprinted across the room and grabbed it before the answering machine could pick up.<p>

"Prentiss," she said crisply if a little breathlessly.

"Agent Prentiss."

Emily recognized Erin Strauss' voice and while she rolled her eyes, she simply said, "Ma'am."

Strauss sent her phone an irritated look. She could never reprimand Prentiss, but every time the younger agent addressed her as "ma'am", Strauss thought it sounded more like "screw you".

"I need you to report over to NCIS headquarters. They've asked for a consult on a case and Agent Hotchner is with the rest of your team in Montana. Both B and C teams are on other cases as well. I'm sorry to cut short your vacation, but you're the only BAU profiler available."

Emily never thought she would be grateful to Erin Strauss for anything. While technically Emily was on vacation, it wasn't by choice. Hotch had ordered her to take some time off during her side investigation into Matthew Benton's death. When the entire thing was over, he still insisted she go on leave, made it an order. However, he had marked the time down as vacation and kept any potential black marks or questions out of her official file. Still, she had resented being forced to take the time off and was still angry for the lack of support Hotch and some of her other team members had shown her. Some time apart from them was likely a good thing.

However, she was slowly going stir crazy. It would be one thing if she had planned to take some time off, she would have actually arranged to do something, take a trip somewhere. Instead, she found herself at home, trying to fill her days with chores and exercise and some shopping. It was becoming boring to such an active woman.

"You'll report to an Agent Gibbs," Strauss continued on. "He'll fill you in on the details."

"Ma'am, Agent Hotchner-," Emily knew that Hotch wasn't going to like any of this, but at this point, she really didn't care. She just didn't want to be on the receiving end of a Hotch hissy fit when he found out one of his agents was off consulting with another agency and be blamed for this happening.

"I'll explain everything to Agent Hotchner," Strauss replied. "They're expecting you at NCIS at 1 pm."

"Yes, ma'am," Emily said, respectfully this time.

* * *

><p>The young agent escorted her to the NCIS equivalent of her bullpen. It had an overhead skylight and several large TV screens scattered around clustered stations of desks. She took in her surroundings in one glance, noting the open layout, the pumpkin colored walls and the staircase that she knew led up to MTAC. The agent stopped before a section in the middle of the room, what was obviously the most prized piece of real estate here. She could see two men each at separate desks talking to each other. The younger one looked barely old enough to shave with his baby-faced looks. He carried an innocent air about him and Emily could see the exasperation on his face as his companion said something to him.<p>

The other man was a little older, tall and very handsome in a "I know I'm good looking and I work hard to preserve it" kind of way. The younger man saw her approaching. Seeing his companion's distraction, the second man turned around. His eyes lit up when he saw her and he hastily made his way towards her.

"I'll take it from here, Black," Anthony DiNozzo said to the young agent escorting Prentiss. He turned a charming smile directly onto her. "Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo. And you are?"

"SSA Emily Prentiss of the FBI. I'm here to see Agent Gibbs."

"FBI?" Tony asked, his voice rising up an octave in surprise. He got McGee's attention and the younger man came around to meet her. He looked Emily up and down and had it been the same lascivious look he had given her when she walked in, she would have smacked him. Instead, he seemed confused. "You? Really?"

His reaction was just as annoying. "Yes, really," Emily huffed. "Why? What's wrong with me?"

"That's the thing, nothing obvious," Tony replied. "Wow, I might have to apply for a transfer if all FBI agents look like you."

Emily sighed inwardly. She turned to the other agent, hoping he wasn't anything like his companion. "Emily Prentiss," she introduced herself.

"Tim McGee," the young man said in a friendly tone. He held out a hand which she shook, relieved that he was markedly different from the other guy. "Don't mind, Tony. We tend to ignore him most of the time."

Emily smiled slightly, especially when she heard DiNozzo utter an offended, "hey!" She looked around. "I was told to find Agent Gibbs. Is he around?"

"Don't worry, I suspect Gibbs already knows you're in the building," Tony replied as he sat down at his desk. "He's got special powers like that."

Emily raised an eyebrow. This guy had to be joking. "Special powers?"

"An uncanny ability to show up at the right moment and knowing things," McGee explained. "No one quite knows how he does it."

"Probably due to some goat sacrifice he made many years ago," DiNozzo called out. He saw McGee's expression freeze and the younger man dropped his eyes. "He's behind me, isn't he?"

"Did you sacrifice a goat to figure that one out, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked as he leaned against the cubicle half wall behind Tony's station.

As Gibbs made his way around into the center of the bullpen to get to his desk, he blew past Emily, completely ignoring her. He leaned over and pulled his gun out of his desk drawer. "Gear up. Got another body."

"Agent Gibbs, I'm Emily Prentiss from the F-," she began.

"I know who you are," Gibbs said as he walked past her. She stared after him, rooted to her spot as McGee and DiNozzo scrambled to gather their things and started following him.

Halfway to the elevator, Gibbs stopped, nearly causing the two other men to run into him. He sighed loudly and then turned around to look at Emily who hadn't moved. "Come on," he said in exasperation, gesturing for her to follow him.

She threw him an irritated look, but followed anyway. She stepped onto the elevator, standing in front of Gibbs. She could feel his eyes boring into the back of her head.

Any friendly thoughts she had about Strauss disappeared. What had that witch gotten her into?

* * *

><p>In the garage, Emily was introduced to another member of Team Gibbs, Ziva David. The former Mossad agent looked curiously at the other woman, waiting for an introduction, but Gibbs was pushing for them to hurry up.<p>

"David, Prentiss, FBI," Gibbs called out as he walked over to a blue four door sedan. He opened the driver's side door and sighed when he saw Emily pause to properly introduce herself to Ziva. "Prentiss!" he snapped. "You ride with me. David, you drive the truck. Take DiNozzo and McGee with you."

"Boss!" McGee yelped in dismayed.

Prentiss saw the other woman start to reach for the keys DiNozzo held, but he moved them out of her reach. "Oh no," she heard the man say. "You're not driving. I have no desire to see what I had for breakfast again."

Emily tilted her head at the strange conversation and reactions, but Gibbs was practically drumming his fingers on the roof of the car as a way to get her to hurry along. Emily frowned at him, but hurried forward and got into the passenger seat. Gibbs let out an audible sigh and slipped behind the wheel, taking off with a loud squeal of the tires.

Emily barely had time to buckle her seatbelt before Gibbs hit the accelerator. She looked apprehensively at the man as the car swung about at a rapid speed. He remained silent, not giving her any information and it didn't take a profiler to see he didn't want her here. Hated having her here. Well, Emily Prentiss never backed down from a challenge and if she could make Hard Ass Aaron Hotchner accept her help, she was sure she could get through to this guy.

She knew the driving was probably part of an intimidation tactic so she simply settled back down and hid any fear of dying as Gibbs zoomed through the streets of DC.

"So what are we looking at?" she asked in a calm voice. "I haven't been given any particulars about the case, so I don't even know what we're dealing with."

Gibbs threw her a look. Emily simply looked inquiringly at him. "I've got seven dead Marines. The one we're going to now makes eight. All have been killed over a period of four weeks. Aside from being male and Marines, we haven't been able to find any connection. Different units, different rank, some enlisted, some officers. Only thing that ties them together is that they've all been stabbed multiple times and a rose and a poem left on their bodies."

"A rose and a poem?" Emily blinked. "Really?" An eyebrow was raised.

"No, I'm making up evidence," Gibbs snarled. "Yes, a poem and a rose."

"But that sounds so…" her voice trailed off.

"Hokey? Cliched?" Gibbs quirked his lips at her. Maybe this one wasn't as stupid as the typical FBI agent. She already spotted the thing that didn't sit right with Gibbs.

"Serial killers definitely have a signature and have been known to have rituals they go through, but to write a poem and leave a rose…it just feels like…" she groped for the right words.

"A Lifetime movie?"

Emily let out an amused snort. "For lack of a better way to describe it, yeah, like some bad Lifetime movie." Gibbs glanced over at her and saw her regarding him with brown eyes that danced a little in merriment. "However, for you to make that analogy, well, Agent Gibbs, I didn't take you for a Lifetime kinda guy. Sir." She added that last part belatedly and with absolutely no respect.

Gibbs felt himself relaxing marginally. He was naturally suspicious of anyone new and definitely someone from the FBI. About the only one he trusted from that agency was Fornell and that trust was built up over many years and many tests. But he found himself instinctively drawn to and liking this young woman. He couldn't help but feel a touch of warmth go through him seeing those big brown eyes dance in amusement.

Big brown eyes. Awwww Hell, Fornell was right.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Maybe it's just me, but that Port-to-Port killer storyline on NCIS kinda sucked, especially the resolution. I am also no fan of EJ Barrett. Blech. If they want another female around, bring back Abby Borin from the Coast Guard instead, or hey! Emily Prentiss! Thank you for the kind reviews and there will be Hotch in this storyline as well as the other BAU team members, but Hotch will figure in more prominently than they will. However, on the CM side, this is really more Emily's story. I am especially curious to hear from the NCIS fans to see if you feel I've gotten Team Gibbs right and from everyone on the story and interactions themselves. Please leave a review if you can. I'd love to hear the feedback.**

The body was found in a dirty alley in Southeast DC. The surrounding neighborhood was filled with shuttered stores and the few that remained open had seen better days. A few pedestrians milled about, but more out of suspicion than curiosity. These were white strangers in their neighborhood. Even worse, white law enforcement strangers.

Emily stepped out of the car and looked around. While the NCIS agents were all in their regulation windbreakers and caps, she wore her Marc Jacobs black wool coat and Diane Von Furstenberg dark gray suit. Large Chanel sunglasses covered her eyes from the bright winter sun and if anyone had gotten close to her, would have smelled her pricey perfume and body lotion. In other words, she looked expensive and very out of place.

She trailed behind Gibbs as he walked over to where the local police had taped off the area. Gibbs paused and held the tape up for her to pass underneath. Emily gave him a small smile. That tiny interaction did not go unnoticed.

"He held the tape up for her," Tony squeaked out. "For a fed. Gibbs."

"Well, maybe he was just being a gentleman about it," McGee said doubtfully.

"This is Gibbs!" Tony shot back. "I don't think the word "gentleman" is in his vocabulary."

"I disagree," Ziva replied as she fiddled with her camera. "I have observed Gibbs acting very courtly to women in the past."

"If they were 80!" Tony exclaimed. He gestured in the direction Gibbs and Emily had taken. "Never to someone as young as that and never someone from another agency, especially the FBI. Not on the first day. Hell, first hour of meeting her."

"Maybe he just likes her," McGee ventured. "You said yourself you thought she was pretty."

"Even if Gibbs liked her, his idea of flirting is a series of grunts." Tony was working himself up in a fine lather, thrown by this side of Gibbs he hadn't seen before. "He's not…polite!"

"DiNozzo!"

"On your six, boss!" Tony threw Ziva and McGee another worried look and hurried forward.

McGee watched their teammate jog off and then turned to Ziva. "So, what do you think has gotten into Gibbs?"

The former Mossad agent shrugged her shoulders, not particularly interested in Gibbs sudden discovery of manners. "She is pretty. Maybe he is just flirting." She walked towards the alley, leaving a befuddled McGee.

_Did Gibbs even know what flirting was?_ the young man wondered to himself.

* * *

><p>In the shaded alleyway, her sunglasses were unnecessary. Emily pushed them back on top of her head, pulling most of her hair away from her face. Only a few bangs wisped against her forehead. Gibbs watched her from the corner of his eye, noticing the angles and curves of her features. Emily crouched down next to the body, careful to not disturb any evidence that might be there and frowned.<p>

"What do you see?" Gibbs asked quietly. This will tell him how good of an agent she was or could be.

"Obviously he wasn't killed here," Emily murmured as she examined the body. "Not enough blood for the number of stab wounds." She tilted her head slightly to the side to look at the wounds from a different angle. "They appear to be delivered from a downward angle, or at least some of them were. The UNSUB is right-handed." She frowned and shook her head. "It's too staged, yet not in any way to demean the body or show remorse. He's staged it to make it appear as if the victim has fallen down here, but that's not what happened." She gestured to the blood stained poem and white rose that had flecks of blood on it. "There's almost a theatrical air to it all."

Gibbs nodded. She had hit on every point that had bothered him about each of the crime scenes. It had felt staged, but made to look like it wasn't. "Phony," he said.

"Very," Emily replied dryly as she craned her neck to read the poem:

"_A rose, a rose, white and pure_

_Sitting still in a sea of light, soft and demure._

_Betrayal and lies, it does not show._

_My rose, my rose, I leave you to forever grow_."

Emily grimaced. "And a lousy poet."

Gibbs smothered a smile, mentally adding another point in Emily's favor. The poem did stink, even Gibbs knew that.

"Were the poems found at the other scenes the same one?"

"No, but they were just as bad. And meaningless."

"Oh, but poetry can mean so much more to the actual poet, Jethro!"

Emily stood and turned around towards the jovial, accented voice she heard. She saw a short, older man wearing wire-rimmed glasses carrying a medical bag. He was followed by a younger man, also in glasses, carrying two more bags. The older man stopped before her.

"Hello, I don't think we've been introduced, my dear," he said with a smile.

"Dr. Donald Mallard, Medical Examiner meet SSA Emily Prentiss of the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI," Gibbs said. "That other guy over there is Dr. Mallard's assistant, Jimmy Palmer."

"It is indeed a pleasure to meet you, my dear," Ducky said as he enthusiastically shook Emily's hand. "I myself have studied forensic profiling and would love the opportunity to talk to you about your work."

"Uh, of course, Dr. Mallard," Emily replied with a smile. Really, it was hard to resist him, he was so adorable.

"Ducky, my dear. Everyone calls me Ducky, especially my friends and I hope we will be friends."

Her smile grew into a grin and the men around her couldn't help but notice how it seemed to brighten up the dark alley. Her gaze shifted over to Palmer and she shook his hand, saying her name again. The young assistant looked nonplused for a moment, not used to people going out of their way to acknowledge him, but he grinned at the friendly woman's gesture and shook her hand.

Gibbs watched her as she interacted with his team and as she continued to examine the crime scene. He could already see that there wasn't going to be any new information from this crime scene, but he wanted her fresh eyes to look it over without being prejudiced by anything they had. That was why he had hustled her out here without even bothering to show her the casefiles. One, he wanted to see how good she was and two, Gibbs wasn't stupid and was willing to let someone who came at things from a different angle offer potential insights.

What he hadn't counted on was how seamlessly she seemed to slip into working with his team and himself. It had been less than two hours, but she had exhibited a comfort level with them, with him, that outsiders never seemed to find so quickly, if ever. And truth be told, he had found himself relaxing around her. There was definitely something about this woman that drew people in, including himself and made them feel…he wasn't sure. Warm? At ease? His famous gut was telling him that Emily Prentiss was something pretty special and he found himself intrigued.

"Time of death, between 10 pm and 3 am," Ducky announced as he removed the liver thermometer. "Timothy?"

McGee crouched down and used his portable fingerprint identifier. He picked up the victims hand and placed the index finger onto the pad of his machine. The fingerprint was scanned and it began to run through the military's databases. After a few minutes, a name popped up.

"Corporal Dennis Finch," McGree read aloud. "Based at Little Creek. He worked in the motor pool. A Sergeant Bailey was his CO. "

"DiNozzo, finish up here with David and McGee. Prentiss, you're with me." Gibbs wheeled around on his heel and headed back to the car, Emily following him with her own long strides.

"Little Creek?" she asked as she smoothly slid into the passenger side and clicked her seat beat securely.

Gibbs hid a small smile when he noticed how she had kept up with his quick pace. Even now, there were times where DiNozzo had to jog to catch up to him. McGee was constantly trotting in his wake and even Ziva hadn't completely mastered the Gibbs quick walk. Agent Prentiss had smoothly matched his gait practically stride for stride. "Yeah. I want to find out what Finch was doing here in Southeast DC." He pulled away from the curb, this time with less urgency and aggression than he had before.

Emily hid a small smile, noticing the slightly relaxed set of his shoulders. She knew Gibbs didn't completely accept her, but he didn't radiate as much hostility as he had before. She'll get through to him yet.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Okay, I agree with a lot of people that when I first watched "Demonology", I couldn't believe what a jackass Hotch was (and other members of the team). However, on subsequent viewings, if you closely watch Hotch throughout the entire episode, he was clearly struggling to **_**not**_** immediately and completely take Emily's side and he was doing that because he had the rest of the team to think about. It's really subtle and I have to give Thomas Gibson a lot of credit because it really was more about how his face changes and his tone of voice. It's also one of the few episodes where I think Hotch shows a lot of emotion, for him, throughout. Listen very closely to how his voice wavers and changes in the exchange he has with Rossi about calling the Vatican. Watch how he has trouble tearing his eyes away from Emily talking to John. And at the end, watch how sad and resigned he looks when she offers him her gun and badge. I think it's actually chocked full of Hotch/Prentiss-ness, especially on his end. **

Aaron Hotchner disconnected his call and stared at his cell phone for a moment, not realizing he was glaring it until David Rossi commented.

"Bad news?" the older man asked.

"Strauss."

"Ah," Dave nodded knowingly. A call from the Section Chief could turn Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm into Becky the Butcher. "What did Erin want?"

"Emily," Hotch growled.

"Prentiss?" Rossi's voice scaled up into surprise. "What did she want with Prentiss?"

"Strauss assigned Prentiss to a consult with NCIS without asking me first," Hotch replied grimly as he slipped his cell phone back into his pocket. "Took her off her vacation and just plopped her solo into a consultation and told me after the fact."

Rossi tilted his head to one side, regarding Hotch closely. "Well, she is the Section Chief and Emily is under her command. If I remember correctly Hawley and Morris' teams are also out. Emily is probably the only profiler around."

"Dammit, Dave! She needed time off," Hotch snapped. "After what happened to her friend, she needs time to mourn and heal. The last thing she needs is to jump right back into work and flying solo."

Rossi blinked at him. "Aaron, it's just a consult with another agency. They're not fools over there so it's not like she's working in some unfamiliar city with hick cops who will hassle her. Who's she working with?"

"Someone named Gibbs."

Rossi let out a grunt that drew a sharp look from Hotch. "What? What's wrong with him?"

Dave gave him a half shrug. "I hear he's a good agent, but an ornery son of a bitch. He might give Emily a bit of a hard time, but she knows how to take care of herself."

Hotch didn't like the sound of this Gibbs. "Damn Strauss. Emily's not going to have anyone backing her up! I'm not there to make sure nothing goes wrong!"

His colleague raised his eyebrows. "You feel you need to baby sit, Prentiss?"

"I'll feel better knowing she's not alone when some ignorant jackass gives her a hard time. She's been through enough lately, Dave. The last thing she needs is some narrow-minded jarhead over at NCIS hassling her and questioning her work."

"That's very…protective of you, Aaron." Rossi was smirking at him. Hotch glared at him again. "If you're feeling that strongly, fly back to DC. We can handle things here."

Hotch sighed. "No, you can't. We've got a family annihilator running around and we're short one profiler. It helps Garcia is here, but you know as well as I do that she can't make up for Emily."

Rossi suppressed the twitching of his lips and replied solemnly, "Oh no, Prentiss is missed." _Especially by_ _you_, he added silently. They had all been missing Prentiss, but Rossi noticed in particular that Hotch seemed slightly out of sorts without the dark-haired beauty around. At first Rossi had thought it was simply the lack of an agent, but he was beginning to suspect it was because Emily wasn't here with him.

Hotch didn't mention that he also received explicit instructions from Strauss to stay in Montana, all of them, until their case was resolved. "Agent Prentiss is more than capable of handling a simple consultation without you hanging over her, Agent Hotchner," Erin Strauss' cold voice had left no room for argument. "Unless, of course, you have concerns about her abilities?"

She was baiting him and Hotch would not rise to it, but it did leave him with the frustrating position of being stuck in Montana while Emily was dealing with what was likely a hostile federal agent by herself. That didn't sit well with Hotch. He was protective of his entire team, but lately, since the Matthew Benton investigation, he had felt the urge to protect Emily Prentiss especially.

It was the only time he had seen her vulnerable and he was surprised how deeply that had affected him. He had to suppress the urge to simply pull her aside and wrap his arms around her. His sense of duty and the ingrained "by the book" Aaron Hotchner had warred with the side of him that wanted to say, "screw it all" and stand beside Emily no matter what because her passion, her belief _had_ swayed him. But he had to think of everyone, and that included the rest of the team.

He knew she saw that as a betrayal and it didn't help their relationship when he had ordered her to take time off and that he didn't want to see her around. The hurt look in her eyes continued to haunt him even now. Their relationship had been strained and chilled since then and he noticed he wasn't the only one. While Dave had offered his unwavering support, the others had been either passive, like JJ and Garcia, middling, Reid, or unsupportive until the end, like himself and Morgan. With the exception Rossi, Hotch knew Emily thought they had all abandoned her and he really couldn't help but agree with her to an extent. But he also thought she was being too unfair and narrow-minded to see the other potential consequences.

Though she was on "vacation," he knew the others had tried to reach out to her, but Prentiss had been strangely quiet and suddenly busy. He knew the rest of the team were feeling varying degrees of guilt and were now trying to make up for it, but Prentiss wasn't making it easy for any of them.

"Well, if you hadn't sent her on vacation…" Rossi needled.

Hotch's head snapped up and he glared at his friend. "So this is my own fault?"

"She didn't want to be on vacation, Aaron."

Hotch sighed. "I know, but I think it was best for everyone. Give everyone time and perspective."

"Or it was about avoidance."

"I wasn't trying to avoid Emily."

"Aaron, let's just be honest," Rossi sighed. "I've never seen you struggle so much as you did watching Emily going through that. I've also never seen you _not_ come down on a subordinate when they crossed the line as many times and as far as Emily did."

Hotch raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh, so now you agree that she did cross a line."

"Aaron, I never said she didn't. I just said you needed to back her up." Rossi sighed and sat down on the conference table. "Look, I know how rocky Emily's introduction to the team was."

Hotch had the grace to look guilty. "It wasn't easy."

"You guys were dicks to her. The only ones who didn't use Emily as their personal whipping girl were Morgan, Garcia and JJ."

"Is that what she told you?" Hotch sputtered defensively.

"No, actually it wasn't. Reid was the one who told me, but he called himself the biggest prick out of all of you. Since I actually know you and Jason from way back, I find it hard to believe Spencer was the worst offender."

"I didn't think Reid would use the word 'prick'."

"He didn't. My word, but from what he told me, it's a nice short and accurate description. Anyway, don't you realize with you and Morgan acting like Emily's opinions and thoughts didn't matter when this was something that was very important to her, well, she felt like she was the new girl on the team again with everyone dumping on her and having to prove herself. Come on, Aaron, you have to realize that!"

"I wasn't trying to make her feel unimportant or to dismiss her," Hotch growled out in frustration. "Dammit, I was trying to protect her! DC police, that damn woman she interviewed, Benton's family, the Italian government, they all wanted her to back off and they didn't give a damn what happened to her in the process! I was fighting against that!"

"I know, Aaron, but you were also fighting against her," Rossi said quietly. "Not standing beside her. And you never explained why you were doing what you were doing. She didn't know and you never bothered to tell her. Not even after it was all over. She never did find out that it was you who got the Vatican to intercede."

"Your idea," Hotch huffed out.

"But you did it. You did it for her. You put yourself and the rest of the team on the line for her and I know that wasn't easy for you."

Hotch sat slowly down in a chair. "And I still wonder if I did enough."

Rossi gazed sympathetically at him for a moment. He hadn't missed the signs. The worried looks, the flickering of jealousy when Hotch watched John Conley visit Emily, the guilt and then the resigned sadness at the end of it all when the only thing Emily had to say to him was, "I understand if you want my badge and gun."

"I think when we get back to Quantico, you'll need to talk to her. Stop avoiding her or your relationship will never be the same."

Hotch nodded slowly. He would need to talk to Prentiss. He couldn't let her go on believing that he saw her as less than a full member of the team. That he doubted her. He never did. He simply wanted to protect her and he did it in the only way he knew how. But it was the wrong way, he understood that now.

"Oh!" Garcia walked into the room and noticed the serious expressions on Hotch and Rossi's faces. "Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt."

"No, it's okay," Hotch said, recovering quickly. He shared a look with Rossi. "Thanks, Dave."

"Any time," the older man replied before walking out of the room.

Garcia slid down in front of her computer, trying to be inconspicuous as possible, but Hotch spoke to her.

"Garcia, I need you to find me everything you can on someone."

"Just give me a name, my captain, and I will let you know what he had for breakfast!" she replied.

"The name is Leroy Jethro Gibbs."

* * *

><p><strong>AN 2: If folks would be so kind as to leave a review, I would appreciate it.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thank you for the kind feedback! It's my first NCIS story and only my second Criminal Minds one (and "Reckoning" is still going on!), so I'm always a little hesitant on whether I've captured the characters. For those wondering, don't worry, all the NCIS characters will appear, so Abby will be popping in soon. Hope you enjoy and please leave a review if you have a chance.**

Sergeant Bailey looked like a stereotypical career Marine. He was in his mid to late-40's, his hair was in a gray buzz cut and there was not an ounce of fat on his wide, muscled body. He greeted Gibbs and Prentiss politely, his eyes lingering on her with open admiration. His look of admiration turned to stunned surprise when told of his corporal's death.

"Damn, poor kid," Bailey said in his gruff voice.

"Good soldier?" Gibbs asked.

"Wouldn't have won any medals, but yeah, overall, good soldier. Good kid. Solid. Followed orders. Did his job. Wasn't a screw-up. You said you found him in Southeast DC? What was he doing there?"

"We were hoping you might be able to help us with that, sir," Emily interjected, earning her a sharp look from Gibbs. He had expected her to stand by silently and observe, but obviously the agent had other ideas.

Bailey shrugged. "No idea. Maybe he got lost?"

"Was he particularly close to anyone in your unit? Friends?" Emily continued. Gibbs simply stood back, watching her with a mixture of annoyance and curiosity.

"Hanson and Miller!" Bailey bellowed out. In less than ten seconds, two men in their twenties came running towards the Sergeant.

"Sir!" they said simultaneously.

"NCIS," Bailey gestured towards Gibbs and Emily. She didn't bother to correct him. "They, uh, have something they need to tell you."

Emily glanced at Gibbs who stared back stone-faced at her. She sighed inwardly, death notifications were always hard. She tried to strike that perfect balance of concern and sympathy, but also professionalism as her next words would be all about prying into the private lives of the deceased.

"I understand you both are close to Corporal Dennis Finch?" she began.

"Yes ma'am," Hanson acknowledged. Miller was giving her a sharp look.

"I'm sorry to inform you that Corporal Finch was found dead today in Southeast DC," her voice had softened.

The men's eyes widened as they struggled to maintain their stoic demeanor as they were rocked by this news. "Ma'am?" Miller asked hesitantly. "Are you sure?"

"It's still pending official confirmation, but the fingerprints and ID matched. I'm so sorry." Gibbs noticed how her voice held so much compassion and sympathy, but still maintained that slight distance to allow her to do her job. He approved of what she was doing so far.

"Do you have any idea why Corporal Finch would be in that area of DC?" she continued.

The two Marines shared a look and Hanson spoke for them both. "A girl. Denny had a girl who lived in Southeast DC. They'd been dating about a year."

"Do you know here name?" Emily asked.

"Sheila. Sheila Anderson," Miller supplied. "I think she's a part-time student and works at a clothing store. One of them pricey women's places."

The name Sheila Anderson and women's clothing store stirred something in Emily's memory. She frowned slightly and Gibbs caught the look. He inched closer, his body tensing just a fraction.

"You mean a boutique?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess," Hanson said uncertainly. "Kind of an expensive place Denny said. Designer brand stuff."

"Is she in her early 20s, about 5'5", African American, leaves her hair naturally curly and it's usually pulled back in a clip?" Emily continued.

When both Marines nodded, Emily supplied the name of the boutique. "Is the shop called Bella's Closet?"

"That sounds about right," Miller said.

Emily nodded and asked a few more questions. No, Finch wasn't the type to get into trouble. He wasn't into drugs, Hell none of their unit could be, the Sergeant would have their heads and you didn't get anything like that by Sergeant Bailey. One thing did make Emily tilt her head to the side and her eyes crinkle slightly, a tell of hers Gibbs was starting to recognize as an indication that something had caught Emily's interest.

"No, no money troubles. Denny didn't gamble though we had our penny poker games or we played for snacks. Pretzels, candy, that type of thing. None of us really gamble. No money and again, it's something Sarge wouldn't approve of," Hanson had said.

"Though he did get that new watch," Miller added. "I think he saved up for it."

Emily and Gibbs thanked them and walked back to the car. When Gibbs had pulled away and pointed the car in the direction of where Bella's Closet was located, he finally asked, "What was significant about the watch?"

"I noticed it at the crime scene. It was an expensive one though you couldn't tell by looking at it," Emily said almost absently. "I had wondered how a corporal could afford it. But I guess if he had been saving his money for a long time, he could have splurged and bought it on credit, but from what Hanson and Miller told us, Finch didn't seem like the type."

Gibbs puzzled over this for a moment. He didn't recognize the watch, it looked like a normal watch to him, but then again, he relied on DiNozzo to pick up on things like that. However, at this last crime scene, Tony had been doing recon on the surrounding area and hadn't spent much time with the body when they were there. He thought back to the other cases.

"At least three of our victims had something pricey and designer on them," he told Emily. She turned curious eyes towards him. "Another one had an expensive watch, one a bracelet and one shoes. I'm told it was stuff their pay grade wouldn't like be able to afford. One officer had on a fancy suit, but he came from money, so we didn't think anything about it."

"It might not be anything," Emily replied, though something told her that it was significant. "Men generally have a tendency to splurge more on one specific item of dress if they're going to spend the money at all on something like that. A watch or shoes." She looked at Gibbs. She was certain that her wool coat probably cost more than the entire outfit he had on right now. It was middle of the line clothing he wore, not cheap, but not designer. Unlike the suits that Hotch preferred, Gibbs dressed in separates that gave him a less intimidating, federal agent look, though the man's presence alone made up for any lack of intimidation his clothing could have given him.. The clothes were bought solely for practicality. It made him look professional for job, but comfortable enough for long hours and gave him the ability to move about. The one thing that Emily knew that probably did cost him a lot were his shoes, but again, she suspected they were for practical purposes. He needed good, comfortable, waterproof shoes that he could run in and spend hours standing in if necessary in all sorts of different environments.

"I believe in going with my gut," Gibbs replied, not unaware of Emily's thoughtful look. "If you think the fancy watches and stuff are important, they might be."

Emily's expression turned more thoughtful and her head tilted once again. "Really? Well, that's refreshing." She smiled softly.

Gibbs raised an eyebrow at her. "What? You profilers don't believe in instinct?"

The smile left her face as she remembered how just a few short weeks earlier she had practically begged Hotch and the rest of her team to trust her gut in Matthew's death only to have those plea fall on deaf ears. With the exception of Rossi, no one had really listened to her or given her instincts the benefit of the doubt. JJ, Reid and Garcia had tried, but they followed Hotch and when the almighty Aaron Hotchner said "no", the rest of the team listened. She got even less help from Morgan who seemed determined to poke holes into everything she said. And Hotch…well, she had thought he looked upon her less as an interloper and she had proven herself to him. Obviously she was mistaken.

From the corner of his eye Gibbs could see her face slip into a cool mask and her eyes become shuttered. A part of Gibbs felt sad seeing that. He had liked watching the expressive warmth that lit up her face, the puzzled little frowns that showed him her mind was working. To see this detached, expressionless look on her face, well, seemed a bit like a crime against nature to Gibbs.

They heard Emily's phone ring and she fished it out of her coat pocket. He saw her frown at the caller ID. She pressed a button and shoved the phone back into her pocket.

"Not going to get that?" Gibbs asked casually.

"It's nobody I need to speak to right now," Emily replied tersely as she turned to look at the window.

Gibbs fell silent, not wanting to pry further. He respected a person's privacy and if it wasn't going to impact his investigation, he really had no right to ask anything further. However, he did get a glance at the name that came up on her phone.

It was "Hotch". Her supervisor was calling her and it was clear, Emily didn't want to speak to him.

* * *

><p>Hotch heard Emily's voicemail pick up and he smothered a sigh of exasperation. "Prentiss, its Hotch. Strauss informed me about your consult with NCIS. I'm sure you'll do your normal stellar work. You're more than capable of handling a consult on your own. However, if you feel the need to just talk or bounce anything off someone, know you can call me. Or anyone on the team. We're uh, dealing with a family annihilator here in Montana or one of us would be there backing you up right now. But, uh, if you feel you do need us, please call me. Anytime. Just call me. Even if it's just to talk."<p>

He hung up and sighed, realizing he had rambled a bit at the end, but Rossi's words came back to haunt him. He had never meant to make Emily feel like she was less than a full member of the team or that he didn't have her back. He remembered the last time a woman accused him of that and how badly that had turned out. It was Elle and how she felt he had failed her when she got shot. In some ways, he had, but Hotch thought Emily had a stronger case than Greenaway did. Either way, it resulted in Elle executing a suspect and then quitting the Bureau. He didn't want that for Emily. He didn't want that for their team.

JJ poked her head into the office Hotch was using and her expression told him it was the worst news possible.

"There's been another one, Hotch."

He nodded and sighed, pushing thoughts of Emily Prentiss out of his head for now. The sooner he found the maniac killing entire families, the sooner they could all get back to DC and assure Prentiss she was as important as any of them on their team.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: So we have the uber-great news that Paget Brewster will be back for Season 7 of Criminal Minds! Yahoo! Now they only need to re-sign Thomas Gibson and all will be right in the CM universe. Thank you everyone who's provided feedback. I'm glad folks are enjoying this story. I'm always a little uncertain about cross-overs. If you could, would people let me know if they're more Criminal Minds fans or NCIS fans. I'm curious to see what might have attracted you to this story because I've had suggestions to just place it in the NCIS or Criminal Minds section only as the crossover section might not get as much traffic. But that didn't feel "right" to be to put it in one show category over the other or post it in multiple places. Also, another note, the watch name I just made up. If you can, please read and review. I'm curious to hear your feedback! Thanks!**

"So I'm guessing you've been here before," Gibbs asked as he parked the car illegally in front of Bella's Closet.

"I think I've personally helped Bella pay three months worth of rent this year," Emily replied as she stepped onto the sidewalk. "I don't have a lot of time to shop so when you find some place that carries stuff you like, that fits, knows what you like and is willing to set aside stuff for you personally before it goes out onto the shop floor, well, you tend to stay with a place that offers that type of service."

They walked into the small boutique that was located in Northwest DC near Dupont Circle. It was a two-story converted brownstone. The first floor was for clothing and accessories, shoes, handbags, jewelry and intimates were located on the second floor. It was almost 8 o'clock and the store would be closing soon, but there were still quite a few shoppers, all women, milling about. A tall, model-thin woman in her fifties broke away from a cluster of women near the cash register and made her way hastily over to Gibbs and Prentiss.

"Emily!" she greeted them, her hands outstretched, the half dozen bracelets on her wrist creating a pleasant jangle. "If you had let me know you were coming, I would have pulled a few things for you. I've got some gorgeous dresses that just came in. Simply scrumptious!" She eyed Gibbs appreciatively. "Perhaps you could model some for your…friend." The delicate way she said "friend" clearly indicated she thought Gibbs knew Emily on an intimate level.

"I'm not here to shop, Bella," Emily replied. "This is Special Agent Gibbs with the Naval Criminal Investigation Service and I'm here in my capacity as an FBI agent."

"Oh dear," Bella trilled, her eyes wide. "It's not a scandal you want to talk to me about? Please let it be a scandal. I haven't been involved in one of those in _ages_! It's Washington, DC for Heaven's sakes! You'd think I would be a part of a scandal every year! A sex scandal would simply be scrumptious!"

"No, Bella, it's not a scandal," Emily replied patiently. "I need to speak to Sheila Anderson. She does work here, right?"

"Sheila?" Bella's voice rose. "What on Earth would the FBI and, I'm sorry dear, what agency did Emily say you were with?" She looked at Gibbs.

"NCIS," he enunciated clearly, glad that Emily was the one dealing with this flighty woman and not him.

"Oh, of course," the look on Bella's face could only be described as disappointment. She obviously didn't think NCIS was exciting enough. Hell, if they had as many movies and TV shows based on them as the FBI has had, they would look pretty scrumptious too. Gibbs nearly slapped the back of his own head for even having this stupid internal dialogue.

"We think Sheila can help us in an investigation," Emily was saying, forcing Gibbs to focus on her again. He blamed the various perfumes that the women in the store were wearing for fogging his brain a little. Maybe individually, they wouldn't be so bad, but all together, plus with the heat in the store and the fact one or two people went overboard with the perfume, and it was giving Gibbs a headache. He inched closer to Emily, noticing earlier that whatever she used was light and pleasant. Standing close to her, he took a deep breath, filling his lungs with Emily's sweet scent. For the second time in less than two minutes he wanted to smack the back of his own head. What was he doing sniffing the FBI agent? Gibbs mentally shook himself and concentrated on the conversation.

"Well, she's upstairs in the lingerie department helping a customer," Bella replied doubtfully. "She's likely almost done with her so if you want to go upstairs…"

Gibbs was already heading towards the stairs as Emily gave Bella a quick smile and a "thanks" before hurrying off after the NCIS agent.

Very little phased Gibbs. While McGee would be blushing and Tony would be making some slightly off-colored remarks, Gibbs simply ignored the multitude of frilly, silky and lacy items on display as he made it to the second floor of Bella's Closet and walked into the lingerie section. He was focused on only one thing and that was the small, pretty woman who was finishing up with a customer, telling her she could pay for her purchases downstairs.

He waited until the woman brushed past him and Emily, heading towards the stairs before he approached Sheila who was straightening up a display of panties.

"Sheila Anderson?" he asked, flashing her his badge. "NCIS. We'd like to ask you a few questions."

The girl looked at them with large doe eyes. When she saw Emily she smiled in confusion. "Ms. Prentiss? Emily?"

Prentiss looked at her sympathetically and gestured her over to a small couch. Warily, Sheila sat down, shooting worried looks at both agents. "What's going on?" she asked in a tremulous tone.

"Sheila," Emily began gently. "Do you know a Corporal Dennis Finch?"

"Denny?" Sheila's voice rose to a high pitch. "Has something happened to Denny?"

"Sheila," Emily was still talking in her soft tones. "I'm sorry, but something happened to Denny. He was found dead this afternoon in Southeast DC."

Sheila merely stared at Emily and then looked over at Gibbs. Her eyes swung back to Emily and she started shaking her head. "No. No! I just saw him last night! You've made a mistake!"

Emily reached out to touch her hand. "I'm sorry, Sheila."

The girl burst into tears, ugly, racking sobs. Gibbs watched as Emily reached out to touch her back, to offer murmuring words of comfort. It was slightly more than she should have done, but given the fact that she knew the girl in some capacity, understandable in Gibbs' eyes. He waited patiently, letting the FBI agent complete the interview.

"Shelia," Emily began gently. "I need to ask you some questions about Dennis. Do you think you can answer them for me?"

The girl sniffled loudly and took the box of tissues that Gibbs had found somewhere, taking one Kleenex to wipe some tears away. "I guess. If it'll help."

"You said you saw Dennis last night. What were you doing? Did you go anywhere? See anyone?"

Sheila shook her head. "No. Denny came over to my place and I made him dinner. I thought he was going to stay the night, but he said he had to do an errand and then get back to base."

"Errand?" Emily's head tilted slightly. "What type of errand?"

"He said he had to pick something up for a friend," sniffled Sheila. She frowned then. "It was kinda late to be going to a store, but it might have been something at someone's house."

"Sheila, did you happen to notice Dennis' watch?"

A wary look came to the girl's tear-filled eyes. "Yeah."

It didn't take a profiler to see the doubts and fears in Sheila's face. "You know Dennis couldn't afford that watch," Emily probed.

Sheila sighed. "At first he told me he saved up for it, but I know that couldn't be true. I know how much that watch costs and I know it would take him years to save that much money." She frowned. "I didn't notice it right away, but Dennis seemed to have a lot more extra money lately. Before, when we started dating last year, we had to be really careful. I mean, we didn't go to fancy restaurants and buy expensive gifts for each other. Neither of us make a lot of money and I'm paying for tuition for school. So we were always careful. A big splurge was a nice dinner out and full price movie tickets and we only did that every few months."

"But?" Emily prompted.

"The past month, Dennis took me out three times to really expensive places. I mean, written up in food magazine places. And then he bought me this for my birthday." She touched the pretty gold locket around her neck. A single diamond was in the center of it. "I asked him how he could afford it and he said not to worry, that it was time he treated his girl what she was worth. I never wanted any of those things! I just wanted Dennis! Oh Emily, he was into something bad, wasn't he?"

Prentiss bit her lip. "I don't know, Sheila, but we're going to find out." She asked Sheila a few more questions but the girl had nothing else to add. Emily fished a card out of her pocket and handed it to her. "Day or night, if you think of something else, I want you to call me right away." Too late she remembered Gibbs standing behind her. "Er, or, call Agent Gibbs." She looked at the man who had remained silent throughout the entire interview.

Gibbs shook his head. "It's okay. Calling Agent Prentiss is fine."

Emily raised an eyebrow at him. This was an NCIS case and if she read Gibbs right, he was the type who liked total control over his cases, not unlike another team leader she knew. Plus, given DiNozzo's initial comments about the FBI, she wasn't too certain if this NCIS agent would be so accommodating to her. Now he was leaving what Emily thought was a very important witness in her care.

She gave Sheila's arm one more squeeze and reiterated that she could call her day or night. With that, Emily and Gibbs went down the stairs and out of the store back to their parked car. They were already heading towards the Naval Yard when Emily finally asked him,

"You let me do all the questioning today," she asked. "You don't strike me as the type to let someone else be the lead, especially an outsider."

"Nope," was his one word reply.

Emily threw him an exasperated look and suspected that in the uncommunicative department, Gibbs would likely beat even Aaron Hotchner. At least Hotch talked, just not about himself. Gibbs didn't even really do that.

"Then why did you let me do all the interviewing?"

"You were handling it fine. Asking all the questions I would have. Didn't see a need to step in," Gibbs said. "I don't have a problem if someone is doing their job well."

She stared at him for a moment. "I think there was a compliment in there."

Gibbs offered her a small grin. "Maybe."

Emily couldn't keep a small smile from appearing on her face. Really, Gibbs was quite a handsome man when he smiled. It suited him. And knowing him less than a day and he was already complimenting her on her skills as an agent in what she suspected was a Gibbs way. After all this time working with Hotch, he's never paid a compliment to her.

"So, were any of the other victims suddenly flush with money?" Emily continued. "That was something Sheila thought was off about Finch."

Gibbs shook his head. "Aside from those things I told you about earlier, we didn't find any unusual financial information on them. But, maybe we didn't dig deep enough. Finch was the youngest victim, more likely to be careless with money that wasn't quite clean."

They pulled into the Naval Yard and quickly fell into step with each other. When they reached the inner NCIS offices, the other members of the team were busy at their desks.

"McGee!" Gibbs barked out without breaking stride. "I need you to dig further into the victims' financial records! DiNozzo and David, re-interview their friends and families. Concentrate on those victims that had those fancy watches and stuff."

"But Boss, we've already done that," McGee said. "There are no unusual activities."

Gibbs threw him a look that had the young agent sitting down abruptly at his desk and typing furiously on his keyboard. "On it Boss!"

Ziva and Tony exchanged glances as they walked over to Gibbs desk where he was putting his gun into a drawer. Prentiss was standing next to the desk, removing her winter coat. To the surprise of his subordinates, Gibbs took her coat and draped it on his desk chair on top of his coat.

"Uh Boss," Tony began, stunned by the courteous action Gibbs had shown the female FBI agent. "Why the sudden interest in the finances again?"

"Did you notice Finch's watch, DiNozzo?"

"Uh yeah, it was a Braillio, retails about $5,000, way out of a corporal's budget, but could be something he could get if he saved a little and used credit," Tony replied.

"Yeah, but that's not the only thing he's been spending money on. Girlfriend told us he's suddenly had a lot more money this past month," Gibbs continued as he came around the desk and stood next to Prentiss. "Emily got that out of her. She also thinks there's something more to the money angle, so check it out." He turned to the FBI agent. "Come on." He spun around and started walking down a hallway.

"Where are we going?" Emily asked.

"To see Ducky."

Tony turned incredulous eyes towards McGee and Ziva. "Emily? He's following an idea that _Emily_ had? See what I mean! Since when does Gibbs call anyone who's not under the age of 10 by their first name on the day they've just met? And when does he think an FBI agent actually has a good idea about an investigation?"

By this point, even Ziva was surprised and confused. "It is unusual for Gibbs. You do not think he might be attracted to her?"

"No, Gibbs would never let an investigation be ruled by simple attraction," McGee said stoutly. "He never did anything like that with Colonel Mann."

"That is true, afterall, this is Gibbs and not Tony we're talking about," Ziva nodded.

"Hey!" DiNozzo snapped out. He looked down the hallway that Gibbs and Emily had disappeared. "You think she might be a witch? You know, cast some sort of mojo spell over Gibbs?"

"It could just be that she's a very good agent and Gibbs respects that," Ziva said as she settled back down at her desk and gathered the information she would need to re-interview the other victims' families and friends.

"In less than a day?" Tony's voice reached a higher pitch. "It took me years to get Gibbs' respect."

"Does he even really have it?" McGee said dryly to Ziva who smirked at him.

"All I'm saying is that Gibbs is not acting like Gibbs," Tony huffed in irritation. "It's like he's a pod person."

"A 'pod person'?" Ziva asked. "What is a 'pod person'?"

"_Invasion of the Body Snatchers_. Aliens from outer space invade earth and replace all the humans with alien copies that are made in these pods," Tony explained.

"And you think Gibbs has been replaced with a look alike and is now a pea pod?" Ziva rolled her eyes.

"'Pod person', Ziva, not a pea pod," Tony corrected. "It's just all very weird how taken he is with this Emily Prentiss."

"He probably just likes her," McGee sighed, tiring of the conversation and getting on with his work.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thank you for all the kind comments. This is a pretty long part, but I couldn't think of a way to break it up, so I hope you enjoy and if you get a chance, please leave a review. I like getting the feedback. Thanks!**

"Roses and death have an ancient history together, Mr. Palmer. Fossilized remains of rose wreaths have been found in Egyptian tombs. It seems our killer is continuing that tradition of death and roses."

"Or he's just jerking our chain, Duck," Gibbs said as he and Emily breezed through autopsy's doors.

"Ah Jethro, just in time for some of my preliminary findings, though there's not much difference from the earlier victims. Agent Prentiss! How nice to see you again!"

"Dr. Mallard," Emily smiled.

"Oh please, my dear, Ducky. I insist."

"Then you'll have to call me Emily." She turned her bright smile towards Palmer. "I hope you'll call me that too, Mr. Palmer."

"Jimmy," the young man smiled. He still wasn't used to anyone bothering to acknowledge him, nevermind going out of their way to include him. Only Abby really did that on a regular basis. He really liked this woman from the FBI. Plus she was gorgeous to look at.

"Emily," Ducky repeated. "What a delightful name. I do believe it means "industrious" or "to excel". An indication of a successful person."

"The irony considering the case is that my middle name is 'Rose'. I was named after both grandmothers."

"Emily Rose," Ducky said. "It's a lovely name for a lovely lady." He gave her a small courtly bow.

Emily couldn't help smiling at him. Really, Ducky was just way too cute to resist.

"If we're all through," Gibbs sniped. "I'd like to know what you found out about our corporal."

"Really Jethro, since we have such a beautiful visitor here with us, I truly hoped you would have shown her some of your finer manners," Ducky huffed in exasperation.

"It's okay, Ducky," Emily interceded before Gibbs could say anything. "We do have a case to solve and Agent Gibbs has been very kind and welcoming to me."

Ducky and Palmer stared at her as if she had just sprouted another head. "What?" she asked.

"Yeah, what?" Gibbs smirked at them.

"Jethro has been welcoming? Kind?" Ducky said slowly. "Jethro?"

"Yeeessss," Emily said, uncertain about the reaction she was getting. She could tell when she met him that Gibbs could be difficult, but really, he's been very pleasant to work with today. Surely Ducky and Jimmy who work with him all the time know that about him. Why are they surprised?

"Will wonders never cease," Ducky merely replied.

"Duck, the corporal," Gibbs prompted.

"Yes, well our young corporal received a total of nine stab wounds and no defensive wounds. However, I can explain that. Mr. Palmer." With Jimmy's help, they rolled the body part way over and Gibbs and Emily could see two small marks on Finch's lower back.

"Taser," Emily identified the marks.

"Yes," Ducky confirmed as he set the body back down. "It seems our young corporal was subdued before he was stabbed. This wound here pierced his heart and is what killed him."

"None of the other victims had taser marks?" Emily turned to Gibbs.

The agent shook his head. "Nor any defensive marks," he replied. "Anything else?"

"We found some trace elements that we've sent up to Abby," Ducky continued. "It might help you find the location of where this murder actually took place."

"Keep me posted if you find anything," Gibbs was saying as he wheeled about to head for the doors. Emily gave Ducky and Palmer a small wave before she followed Gibbs out of autopsy.

"Jethro welcoming towards an FBI agent forced on him for an investigation?" Ducky murmured. "What brought that about?"

"Well, she is pretty," Jimmy commented.

* * *

><p>The pulsing beat of the music was deafening and familiar. On their elevator ride down, Gibbs had mentioned that they would be visiting NCIS' forensics scientist. When Emily stepped into the lab, the sight that greeted her was one she was not expecting.<p>

Abby Scuitto was dressed in her favorite plaid mini-skirt that day and had paired it with her black t-shirt that had the rhinestone skull and crossbones emblazoned on the chest. A long sleeve white t-shirt was layered underneath the black one. White knee high socks floated above clunky black loafers that gave the already tall woman an additional three inches in height. Her hair was pulled into two pigtails. To cap off the surreal world Emily felt she had walked into, Abby was talking to a stuffed animal, a hippopotamus to be exact.

"I don't care if she is pretty. He wouldn't be nice just because he thought she was pretty," Abby was saying to Bert, her stuffed animal. "He's not like that."

"Abby!" Gibbs barked out over the loud music. He made a little motion with his hand, telling her to turn off the noise.

The scientist picked up her remote and soon silence settled over the lab. She looked over Gibbs' shoulder at the woman just behind him. Abby had to admit, she was very pretty.

"Hi, Emily Prentiss from the FBI," the woman said, extending her hand. "Great music."

Abby almost snorted at the lame attempt to forge a connection with her and made no move to accept Emily's hand until she heard the older woman's next words.

"I think though, Brain Matter's third album was much better. This sophomore outing was a little hit or miss."

Abby's jaw dropped and even Gibbs threw her a look of surprise.

"You know Brain Matter?" Abby stuttered.

"Uh yeah," Emily replied, a little nonplussed by the searching looks she was getting from both NCIS employees and the fact that the hand she held out to Abby was simply hanging there. She drew her hand back in and looked uncertainly at Abby and then Gibbs. "I have a friend who does the PR and bookings for a lot of the local bands. He usually hooks me up with tickets and I go when I can. I've been following Brain Matter for a while, ever since they first started out."

"Wait! Wait!" Abby was fairly vibrating with excitement. "Do you think you can get me tickets to see them at Annapolis because I have been trying forever to score some and they're all sold out."

Emily smiled. "Yeah, once their song "Land of the Living Freaks" became a big hit, it's been harder and harder to get tickets. Luckily my friend Billy always makes sure I'm taken care. I'll see what I can do and if all else fails, at least you can have my spare one. Billy usually gives me two, but I have a hard time finding someone who wants to go see them."

"You too?" Abby exclaimed, feeling such a kinship with this woman. "I have tried in like forever to get the guys here to go with me, but they keep brushing me off. I mean, how can they not like songs like "Tragic Tundra" or "Impossible Missionary Position"?"

Emily laughed. "I know. If they only gave it a chance, they would see that Brain Matter has a lot more to offer than just loud music."

"If you two are done, I'd like to get back to the case," Gibbs interrupted the bewildering bonding between the two women. He had never seen Abby take to someone new that quickly who didn't walk on four paws and was covered in fur. And Emily Prentiss actually _liked_ Abby's kind of music? Obviously, there was a LOT more to this woman than met the eye.

"We'll talk later," Abby winked at Emily. "Okay, back to the case. The information I have for you might be kinda interesting. Ducky sent up samples of a powder that was on Corporal Finch's skin and I took some samples from his clothing. Acting at his top capacity, Major Mass Spectrometer broke it down and discovered that we had a winning combination of dry wall and sawdust.

"Construction," Gibbs murmured.

"That part of DC Finch was found in has been going recent urban revitalization," Emily added. "A lot of construction going on. Finch might have been meeting someone at a site or a home undergoing renovations."

"Already ahead of you FBI Emily," Abby said as she clicked on a few keys on her keyboard. She pulled up a map of Southeast DC that had highlighted areas, seven in blue and one in red. "The area in red is where Corporal Finch was found. The blue areas are the places where construction is taking place based on permits. Now, if someone is doing a small home job, they wouldn't have applied for a permit, but what I also found was some oil on the bottom of Finch's shoe. It's industrial paint that is readily available to commercial contractors, not so much for the Home Depot weekend shopper."

"That's good work, Abs," Gibbs said. He gave her a small peck on the cheek she had offered, surprising Emily. "Come on, Prentiss."

"Are we going to visits those sites?" Emily asked as she waved goodbye to Abby who made a small phone handset motion with one hand, indicating she wanted to talk to Emily later. The FBI agent grinned at her and scurried after Gibbs. She slipped into the elevator next to him right before the doors closed.

"I am along with DiNozzo and David, but I think it's time you go over the other murders, see what you can find in the casefiles."

Emily tried not to feel disappointed that she wasn't going back out on the field, but Gibbs was the lead and she really did need to look at those casefiles. The elevator deposited them back onto the floor where Gibbs' team was located. The smell of something rich, fatty and entirely bad for you assaulted Emily's nose and her stomach growled. She realized it had been hours since she had last eaten. She glanced hurriedly at Gibbs hoping he hadn't heard. The NCIS agent didn't turn his head, but she had no doubt he had caught that embarrassing sound. Not much escaped the man's notice.

They turned a corner and Emily could see that the rest of Team Gibbs were eating a late dinner that consisted of burritos. One glare from Gibbs sent them tossing their half-eaten meal into garbage cans and turning back to their computers or picking up the phone.

"DiNozzo! David! You two are with me. McGee! Get Prentiss the files on the first seven murders and make sure she gets set up somewhere," Gibbs barked out as he retrieved his gun from his desk drawer.

He never broke stride, not sparing Emily or anyone else a glance as he picked up his coat, carefully putting Emily's back on his chair, and strode towards the elevators, Ziva and Tony scrambling in his wake to catch up to him.

"Wow," Emily breathed out. "He is a bit like a tornado. What does he run on? Rocket fuel?"

"Coffee," McGee replied in a friendly tone. "Though, if you ever taste the coffee he drinks it does sort of taste like rocket fuel. Come one, we have a spare desk over here." He pointed to the tiny desk that was opposite him and closest to the hallway.

Emily looked at the tiny space in dismay. "I don't mean to be a pain, but is there somewhere larger I could possibly set up? I kinda like to have more room to spread out all the information." She hoped it didn't sound as presumptuous as it did to her own ears.

"Uh, sure," McGee replied uncertainly. Normally he would have said no, but then again, Gibbs had been treating Prentiss a little differently. Maybe he would be upset if McGee didn't comply with her small request. "I think we can put you up in one of the conference rooms."

"Thanks, McGee," Emily smiled at him and the young agent couldn't help but smile back. Really, she was awfully pretty and her smile was infectious.

* * *

><p>McGee closed the door after him as he left Emily alone in the small conference room. After helping her carry the boxes of information on the previous murders and finding a whiteboard for her to use, he had excused himself to continue the financial research Gibbs had ordered. Emily began sorting the files but her eyes kept straying to her cell phone where a little red light continued to blink at her indicating she had at least one voicemail message.<p>

She hadn't had time to check her messages and knew it could only be from Hotch as she hadn't received any calls since the one he made earlier that day. She sighed, knowing she couldn't avoid him forever and picked up her phone.

"_Prentiss, its Hotch. Strauss informed me about your consult with NCIS. I'm sure you'll do your normal stellar work. You're more than capable of handling a consult on your own. However, if you feel the need to just talk or bounce anything off someone, know you can call me. Or anyone on the team. We're uh, dealing with a family annihilator here in Montana or one of us would be there backing you up right now. But, uh, if you feel you do need us, please call me. Anytime. Just call me. Even if it's just to talk."_

While the slightly rambling tone of the message made her smile, she also couldn't help feel slightly annoyed with Aaron Hotchner on top of the anger that was still there from the Benton case. First he says she can handle this consult on her own and then seems to indicate she might want to run to one of them for back-up. And Aaron Hotchner offering himself up as an ear to "just talk"? Unheard of. She didn't know what he was up to, maybe feeling guilty for how he treated her earlier. Or could this be his way of checking up on her because he really didn't think she was ready to handle a solo consult after what happened with Matthew? Emily didn't know what to make of the message and only knew that she didn't feel like dealing with him at the moment.

However, she couldn't just ignore him. She bit her lip and thought about it. He was her supervisor, but Strauss made it clear that all she had to do with this consult was send in a daily report of her activities to the Section Chief or let Strauss know if there was anything that might reflect badly on the Bureau. Hotch hadn't ordered her to give him daily reports and they _were_ dealing with a family annihilator in Montana.

Emily tapped her fingers on her phone and came to a decision. She texted him a message,

_Got your message and thanks. Pretty busy here, know you guys must be too. Don't worry about me. I'm fine. Prentiss._

She read over her message several times and nodded her head. It was short, direct and to the point and 100% accurate. That should alleviate any concerns Hotch had. She hit the "send" button and set aside her phone to settle down to her work.

* * *

><p>Hotch rubbed his eyes wearily. The UNSUB was escalating in violence at an alarming rate. The Mason family had been absolutely butchered. Even his own team who had seen so much, had been badly shaken by the carnage. Reid and JJ had to even excuse themselves and it took all of Hotch's control to stay in that house and go through all the rooms.<p>

He sighed and leaned back in his chair and felt himself once again missing the calming presence of a certain brunette. The team was off in her absence. He knew had she been here, Prentiss would have offered solace and comfort to each of them. She would have taken the obviously shaken JJ and Reid, reassuring them that their reactions didn't make them any less of a professional. She would have calmed Morgan's anger and probably saved him some bruised knuckles received when he punched a metal filing cabinet earlier. She would have spoken to an unusually quiet Dave Rossi who had simply sighed and stared off into the distance trying to not visualize the dismembered bodies of the Mason twin girls.

And for Hotch? Her simple presence would have soothed him and he would have drawn strength from her being there. Her quiet questions and focus to get them back on track would have centered him and helped him concentrate on the case before them so they could find this animal much more quickly and put him away for good.

A blinking light on his phone indicated to him a text message had come in. Hotch fished it out of his pocket and he looked at the sender's name with eager eyes. Suddenly things seemed a bit brighter. This was the first contact he's had with Prentiss in over a week.

_Got your message and thanks. Pretty busy here, know you guys must be too. Don't worry about me. I'm fine. Prentiss._

It was a perfectly proper message. Correct. Short. Professional. But Hotch couldn't feel as though it was cold. Impersonal. A moment ago he had felt buoyed up at the prospect that she had contacted him and now he couldn't help but feel a little deflated. He debated calling her again and decided not to. It was late in DC right now and if she was sleeping, he didn't want to disturb her.

But he wanted to hear from her again. Hotch decided to reply with a text of his own.

_Good to hear from you. Please know you can contact me at any time. Come to me with any questions. All you need to do is ask. Hotch._

He looked at the message and thought it conveyed to her that his door was always open if she needed anything, that he could be someone she could turn to, reassure her of that fact. Hotch knew he failed her before with Matthew Benton, but he wanted to make sure she knew that would never happen again. He hit the 'send' button and then set aside his phone, ready to face the horrific pictures of the Mason family.

* * *

><p>Emily heard the distinctive 'ping' of an incoming message on her phone. She saw she had a text and pulled it up. Hotch.<p>

_Good to hear from you. Please know you can contact me at any time. Come to me with any questions. All you need to do is ask. Hotch._

She scowled at the message. Really? Was he serious? Was he really trying to supervise her from 2,000 miles away? Did he think her judgment was _that_ impaired?

A little voice in her head spoke up, _Maybe he's just wants you to know you can rely on him._

Emily snorted at the voice. Aaron Hotchner made it clear recently he thought her judgment was impaired and her insights and contributions weren't worth all that much. All he was doing now was trying to micro-manage her from Montana because he had questions about her abilities. Emily sighed and threw her phone across the table, not wanting to deal with Aaron Hotchner and his annoying text messages.

"I hate those things too," a voice said from the door.

Emily whipped around to see Gibbs standing there holding a paper bag and a drink carrier with two coffees. He came into the room and Emily detected the heavenly scent of hot food. Her stomach rumbled again. She had hit the vending machines earlier and gotten a cup of horrible coffee and a candy bar for her dinner. She had been prepared to be satisfied with that until she went home, but it looked like Gibb was riding to the rescue.

Gibbs' glance told him that Emily Prentiss had been busy and not with just tossing cell phones around. The whiteboard McGee had found for her was covered with her neat handwriting, divided up into eight columns where characteristics of each victim and crime were listed in the corresponding columns. Photos of the crime scenes had been tacked up on another board that was already in the conference room and the files were spread out in neat stacks on the table, a legal pad filled with Emily's notes.

"You've been busy," Gibbs commented as he set the bag and coffee down on the table. He handed one of the hot drinks to her. "Don't drink that swill from the vending machines. It'll eat through your stomach."

"Thanks for the warning," Emily said as she saluted him with her cup. She took a sip from the cup he gave her and her eyes lit up in appreciation. It was rich and strong with just a touch of cream and sugar. "How did you know how I liked my coffee?"

"You struck me as a cream and sugar coffee drinker," Gibbs replied with a smirk.

"Close. I usually use Splenda."

"That'll eat through your stomach too. Stop using that crap."

"There is nothing wrong with Splenda," Emily protested.

"If you like crap," Gibbs replied as he took two boxes out of the paper bag. He looked at her. "You're not one of those vegetarians are you?"

"No," Emily smiled, knowing this man was strictly meat and potatoes. She could do meat and potatoes and right now she was so hungry that she could probably devour a whole cow. She sniffed appreciatively and recognized the scent. "Cheeseburgers and fries?" There was a note of excitement in her voice.

Gibbs grinned and handed her one of the boxes. "It's from Henry's Hamburger Shack on 16th. Best burgers in DC."

"I'm not familiar with it," Emily replied as she opened up the box and inhaled the heavenly scent.

"Not many people are. It's a little hole in the wall place. I only know about it because my old partner introduced me to it."

For a few minutes they ate in an easy silence. Gibbs was not a talkative man and Emily didn't mind having a few minutes to eat. She didn't feel any awkwardness with Gibbs or the need to make small talk. It was as if they had known each other for years and were comfortable with the silences.

"Make much headway?" Gibbs asked nodding towards the whiteboard.

"I'm still sorting through the first seven cases," Emily replied. "But I should be done in a couple of hours."

"No, you're going home as soon as you finish eating. It's past 1 am."

"Is it?" Emily asked in surprise. She glanced at her watch and saw it was actually 1:10 am. "Wow, I had no idea."

"You aren't tired?" Gibbs asked, tilting his head and regarding her closely.

"I've been on vacation the past week," she replied as she cleaned up her meal, packing away the debris in the box and holding out her hand for Gibbs' box. She dumped both into the trash can and took another sip of her coffee. "I think I got caught up on my rest."

"Vacation wasn't your idea, was it?" Gibbs asked causally. "You were told to take time."

Emily froze for a split second, but long enough for Gibbs to see the reaction. He could see her debating whether to tell him the truth or brush it off.

"No," she finally said as she sat back down, the coffee cup cradled in her hands, warming them with its slowly dissipating heat. "There was a case that I got too involved in and Hotch, Agent Hotchner, my supervisor thought it was best if I took some time off after it."

"But not you?" Gibbs' voice was calm, reassuring.

Emily worried her lip and shook her head. "It was actually something I brought to the BAU. An old friend of mine had died and there were some suspicious circumstances surrounding his death. Hotch gave me some leeway on it, but solid evidence was hard to come by and he started getting pressure from his superiors and above."

"Above?"

"Political pressure." Emily gave him a wan smile. "DC Metro wasn't happy, some politically connected people, the Italian government."

"Wow, you pissed off the Italian government?" Gibbs arched an eyebrow at her.

"The Vatican got involved too," Emily quirked her lips at him.

"Well, if you're going to piss people off, make sure you piss off the right ones," Gibbs grinned at her. "So what happened?"

She eyed him for a moment, uncertain how he would react to the story but decided to tell him lest he get details from other channels via the agency gossip grapevine. Gibbs listened silently as she succinctly gave him the details surrounding Matthew's death, the investigation and the eventual resolution. She glossed over the details of how her teammates reacted and how she had felt by their lack of support, but Gibbs did not miss the omissions. He may not be a profiler, but Gibbs had a pretty good sense of people.

"This Hotchner didn't back you up?" Gibbs asked quietly.

"He did what he could," Emily replied. Mad as she was at Hotch, she felt an automatic need to defend him and the rest of her team. "He has to deal with all the politics and the relationships. He has a pretty tough river to navigate."

Gibbs merely grunted. "But you were right though. This Silvano was killing people."

"He was performing exorcisms that put so much stress on these men's bodies that it wound up killing them. So yeah, you could say I was right."

_And for being right, he puts you on leave, as if you're the one with a problem_, Gibbs thought to himself. He knew the hazards of someone getting to close to a case, having it be personal, but from what little Emily had said and hadn't said, it seemed her team provided very little comfort and help to her when she needed it the most. Except for one person she mentioned several times, a Rossi. But Gibbs knew there were quite a few more people on that BAU team, not to mention Hotchner was her supervisor. He should have had her back. That's what Gibbs would have done. If any one of his people felt so strongly that something was wrong and a crime had been committed, he would have backed them all the way.

But then again, Gibbs wasn't a political animal and from what little Emily and Fornell had said about Hotchner, it was obvious the FBI man was. Gibbs hated politics and didn't have much use for those who played around in it or let it rule their actions like it sounded like this Hotchner may have, though he seemed to have changed his mind at the last minute.

"You mad at Hotchner? That the reason why you're avoiding his phone calls?" Gibbs asked quietly.

Emily felt a flare of irritation. "I am not avoiding his calls and I'm not mad at him. Right now we're both busy with our separate cases. I don't see what any of this has to do with the investigation."

Gibbs shrugged. "Just like to know who I'm working with."

"I think you know all you need to know about me, sir." Even though he had only known Emily for a short period of time, Gibbs knew that "sir" was her way of insulting him.

"Do you have any issues with my performance so far, sir?" Emily asked in an arch tone. When Gibbs shook his head she continued. "Then I think we should limit ourselves to just this investigation."

He had touched a very sore spot and with anyone else, he probably would have let it go, but he found Emily Prentiss too intriguing to simply brush it aside. From what he observed today, he had no doubts about how good of an investigator she was. Once she had absorbed the case files, he would see how she did as a profiler. But beyond the agent, Gibbs wanted to know about the woman he had seen intriguing little glimpses of throughout the day. Even her reticence to talk about issues she had with her supervisor and maybe other teammates both frustrated and drew him closer to her. Here he was, an outside party who was lending a sympathetic ear to a potential bitch and moan fest about unreasonable colleagues and bad bosses she wasn't rising to it. In fact, she was defending them instead of giving some safe, bland answer. Gibbs liked that discretion and that loyalty, though he wondered if it might be misplaced. That was one thing he wanted to find out and learn more about this lovely woman.

"So, what did you find out at the construction sites?" Emily asked, bringing their conversation squarely back to the investigation.

"We found the original murder site."

"You did?" she asked excitedly, perking up. She grabbed a pen and paper. "Okay, what did you find out?"

"No, go home, Emily, it can wait until tomorrow."

"What? No, I mean it's so fresh, let's go over it now."

Gibbs stood up and helped her out of her chair. "Go home. I've already sent the rest of the team home and I'm leaving too. We can get a fresh start tomorrow."

Before Emily knew it, Gibbs had helped her into her coat and hustled her into the elevator. She must be more tired than she thought or he wouldn't have gotten her out of the conference room so quickly and easily. He walked her to her car and made sure it she started it and was pulling away before he headed over to his own vehicle, a truck, parked just a few spaces over. He pulled up behind her as she waited for the guard to raise the gate and she gave him a little wave which she saw him return in her rearview mirror before they split apart and headed in different directions.

By the time Emily had reached her apartment, it was almost 2:00 am. She checked her answering machine and saw there were several messages. She listened to them as she slipped off her shoes and coat.

"Hey Em, its JJ," the first message played. "I hear Strauss assigned you to a consult with NCIS. Hope that's going okay. God, can I just say that Pen and I really miss you. This one is really bad Em and we just really wish you were here with us. Hope everything is going okay and when you get a chance, give us a call. We miss you!"

The second message was from Morgan. "Hey Prentiss, hope they're treating you well over there at NCIS. Uh, just wanted to call and see if you were in yet. We caught a bad one out here in Montana. I mean, a really bad one. Could really use some of that calm, smart insight from my partner now. Anyway, hope things are going okay for you and you let me know if those Navy boys aren't treating you right. Got to protect my favorite brunette. Night girl."

Rossi's gruff tones came on next. "Hey kiddo, just checking up and seeing how you're doing. And yes, I did admit I'm checking up on you. I'm the old guy in the group so I get some leeway for doing and saying stuff like that. Anyway, count your blessings you're not here dealing with this sadistic bastard we're trying to find, but I will admit, we all miss you…especially Hotch. Yeah, I said Hotch, though you probably don't believe me, but he does, Emily. I think he's feeling guilty for what went down between you two during Matthew's investigation. Just cut him some slack, kiddo. He does care and he means well, but he's in a bad spot and hasn't had a whole lot of experience showing he cares. Anyway, call one of us when you get a chance. We all miss you and want to know you're doing okay."

"Hey Emily, its Spence," Reid's higher pitched voice was a distinct contrast to Rossi's. "Just checking in to see if you're doing okay. We heard Strauss sent you on a consult with NCIS. Hey, did you know NCIS really was originally the Office of Naval Intelligence and was tasked with collecting information on the characteristics and weaponry of foreign vessels, charting foreign passages, rivers, or other bodies of water, and touring overseas fortifications, industrial plants, and shipyards? It's actually just a little older than the FBI. Anyway, I hope things are going well with the consult, we uh, caught a bad one here in Montana. Not that they aren't all bad, but this is really bad." Spencer's voice too on a plaintive note. "I miss you, Emily. Even with Garcia here, it's not enough to distract Derek. Well, I hope I get to talk to you soon."

The last message was from Garcia. "My vision! I hope those hot Navy guys are treating you well? I saw a picture of Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Hot in an older professor kinda way. I wish you were here because maybe Hotch wouldn't have dragged me out here to get a front row seat of the sicko du jour. I have one request of you my Lovely Dark Lady, call the Boss Man. I think he's missing you and he's not happy about this NCIS consult which means he's being even more moody than normal. So just call and ease his mind a little, okay Sugar Plum? Garcia out!"

Emily had to smile a little at the messages and she wondered if they all collude to call her today or if they each snuck off to make the phone call. However, she was bone tired and it was far too late to call them, despite the time difference. She also knew that as soon as she called, she would be sucked into a discussion about the case and right now, she just didn't feel like talking about an UNSUB that wiped out entire families. While murder was abhorent to her, no matter the victim, she felt some measure of relief that she wasn't looking at any dead children on this NCIS case. She settled for a couple of quick text messages to make sure they weren't worrying about her and not focusing on their case. The sooner they solved it, the less victims and the sooner they can get back home.

_JJ, late night. Will try to call when things are calmer. Hang in there._

_Morgan, thanks for the call. But be nicer to Reid or I'll have to kick your ass when I see you next._

_Dave, I'm fine. Don't worry about me. And Hotch and I have communicated._

_Reid, I miss you too, and don't worry about Derek. I'm sure he'll leave you alone because he needs to concentrate on the case._

_Pen, I'm fine and don't worry about Hotch. He's just being intense because of the case._

She hesitated wondering if she should reply to Hotch's text. Rossi and Garcia had both urged her to call him saying he appeared worried, but she suspected he was really more annoyed that Strauss had gone behind his back and assigned his agent to a consult without talking with him first. She settled for a neutral response to him:

_Thanks. But I'm fine. Things going well here. Prentiss._

She sighed, exhaustion slamming into her body. She made sure her phone was charging, undressed, washed her face and brushed her teeth before crawling into bed. She was so tired that she dropped off to sleep immediately after setting her alarm. Emily drifted off to sleep to dream of blue eyes and dark ones.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Okay, it's the "Awwwww, I feel bad for Hotch" and this explains why Tony has been acting the way he has. As for Emily and Ziva haven't bonded yet, it's still young. Remember, Emily just arrived at NCIS and she's been spending most of her time with Gibbs. No chance to connect with Ziva, but don't worry, that's coming up. Reviews and feedback are definitely welcomed!**

Aaron Hotchner glanced at his watch and sighed. He rubbed his eyes tiredly and then looked at the rest of his team who were assembled in the living room of his hotel suite. Given the amount of rooms they had taken, the hotel had provided one two room suite for them to use and as the leader, it naturally went to Hotch. The downside of it was that they were using his room as their makeshift second headquarters as they continued to go over the case long after a late dinner. Even if he had felt inclined, he couldn't go to sleep, not with everyone camped out there and no one making a move to leave.

The team was running on fumes and they all needed sleep desperately. It was almost midnight and they would have an early start tomorrow. However, no one wanted to be leave the rest of the group, the horrors the UNSUB they were chasing inflicted on his victims far too fresh in their memories.

"People, it's late, let's try to get some sleep. We're going to have another long day tomorrow-," Hotch began when a small beep on JJ's phone interrupted him. Then, as if it was the first domino to fall, all the other phones began to emit similar beeps, with the last one being his own. They all had incoming text messages.

"It's Em," JJ sighed in relief with a happy smile on her face. She read the message and nodded her head thoughtfully.

"Hey, my message is from her too!" Reid called out excitedly.

"I think we all got texted by Prentiss," Rossi noted in a dry tone, but feeling marginally better now that he had heard from their missing colleague.

Hotch looked around the room and saw the palpable change in his teammates. Whatever Prentiss had written to them seemed to have comforted or cheered them to an extent. They appeared lighter, less depressed. She did have that affect on each of them.

"I think it's probably a good idea for us to get some sleep," Hotch repeated.

"Hotch is right," Rossi said as he stood up and stretched. He yawned, setting off a chain reaction as everyone else also began to gather their things.

They began to shuffle out, saying sleepy goodnights to Hotch. Rossi was the last to leave and he paused a moment in the doorway. "You did get a message from Prentiss too?"

Hotch nodded. "I got one earlier in the day and another one just now. It's all fine, Dave."

Rossi furrowed his eyebrows, trying to read the younger man who stared impassively back at him, no emotion to indicate how he felt. Dave was too tired to dig further, but he made a mental note to talk to Hotch about it later.

Closing the door behind his old friend, Hotch leaned against it and looked down at this cell phone to read the text message again.

_Thanks. But I'm fine. Things going well here. Prentiss._

It was another short, cold, professional note. Whereas the others seemed to have something more personal, warmer words delivered to each of them, his were almost impersonal. Hotch never knew something so professional sounding could hurt so much.

* * *

><p>"Emily Prentiss, daughter of Ambassador Elizabeth Prentiss. Supervisory Special Agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation," Tony DiNozzo read off the screen as he stared at Emily's Bureau file. "Speaks several foreign languages and was stationed in the Midwest before being assigned to the BAU."<p>

"Gibbs isn't going to like that you're snooping around Emily's file," McGee warned his teammate.

Tony wheeled on the younger agent and pointed an accusing finger at him. "She got you too! What is it with this woman?"

"She didn't get me, Tony," McGee snapped back. "We just had a chance to talk a little while you guys were checking out the construction sites last night. She's a great person. Do you know she likes _Star Trek_, the original series?"

DiNozzo gazed at him in horror. "She's a geek like you, McGeek?"

"I think she refers to herself as a nerd," the younger man smirked back at him. "Really, you sit down and talk with her, she's kinda cool."

Tony threw his hands up in the air in exasperation. "Has she brainwashed everyone on this team? Ziva! Ziva! You're with me on this, aren't you?"

"I do not even know what 'this' is," the former Mossad agent replied. "I have not spent much time with Agent Prentiss, but from what I have observed, she is intelligent, good at her job and is very friendly. Why do you have such a problem with her?"

"Because I just find it suspicious that she's managed to insinuate herself into this team," Tony ground out. "It's smells fishy."

"And she doesn't seem attracted to Tony," McGee supplied to Ziva who nodded her head understandingly.

"That's simply another sign that something isn't right about her," Tony shot back.

Ziva tilted her head to the side as she carefully regarded Tony. Realization dawned on her and her face lit up in amusement. "You are jealous of her!"

Tony wheeled on her with surprise on his face. "What?"

Ziva got up from her desk to stand next to Tony, peering closely at his face. "You are! You're jealous that Gibbs likes her so much! Tony, you're jealous of Agent Prentiss!"

"I am not jealous. I am merely looking out for the welfare of this team. Someone has to," he replied coolly.

"No, you're jealous," McGee smirked as he also came around to stand next to Tony. "You're afraid Emily is going to be Gibbs' go to guy, well, gal, and not you."

"Hey! I am not jealous of Agent Prentiss," Tony huffed. "I just think there's something not right." He clicked frantically on her personnel file. "Something isn't right. Uhhh, see, right there! The date of when she was in Chicago. It doesn't match up to her previous assignment. There's an overlap."

Ziva and McGee looked at it. Ziva snorted. "It's a one month overlap. It's probably a typo."

"Or she did some transitioning and the Bureau had her marked down in both places," McGee added. "Really Tony, you're grasping at straws here."

"He'd be better off grasping some leads," a cold voice said from behind them.

The three agents froze when they heard Gibbs voice and then immediately Ziva and McGee scattered leaving Tony to slowly turn around and face his boss' unamused stare. "There a reason you've got Agent Prentiss' file pulled up?" He stepped in closer to speak directly into Tony's ear.

"Just making sure everything is in order, Boss," DiNozzo squeaked out, feeling sweat pooling in his armpits.

"Uh huh," Gibbs replied as he stepped back. "Anyone seen Prentiss?"

"Not in yet," Tony replied gleefully. At least he had _that_ on Super Agent Emily Prentiss. "And I've been here since 7 am." It was now a quarter to eight. It was rare that they beat Gibbs in, but they noticed he had two coffees and a Caf-Pow with him, which meant it had taken a little longer for his order to be prepared and Tony, at least, made certain he would either beat Gibbs in today or arrive right after him. He knew through his late shift spies that Gibbs and Emily left after one am last night, after having dinner together. A dinner Gibbs had bought for her, something Tony couldn't remember him ever doing for one of them.

Gibbs frowned slightly but a voice spoke up.

"Emily? Are you looking for Emily?"

"You've seen her, Duck?" Gibbs asked as the Medical Examiner approached his desk.

"Why yes, she was waiting when I got in this morning. I had an early morning call to attend to. A poor sergeant had taken an unfortunate ride last night while inebriated. His commander wanted his autopsy done immediately and pulled a few strings. Really, if these young men would only learn not to drink and drive-"

"Emily, Duck," Gibbs prompted.

"Oh yes, Emily was waiting in the lobby when I arrived. Really Jethro, you should make sure she has a temporary pass so she's not left sitting there waiting for someone to escort her up. I got here a little after six am and she had been waiting since 5:30 am. We shared a lovely cup of tea though I suspect she's more of a coffee drinker that early in the morning. But the young lady is far too polite to say anything and she was such delightful company."

"Where is she, Ducky?" Gibbs asked patiently.

"Why, I expect she's in that conference room she was working in last night," the doctor replied as if the answer was obvious, which it actually was.

Gibbs grabbed both coffees and headed off towards the conference rooms as Tony said aloud in a disgusted tone.

"She was here before six am!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Maybe folks think I'm having Emily be cruel to Hotch, but given this takes place right after "Demonology", I think it's normal that she's only feeling "professional" towards him. Plus, she has been rather busy and he really hasn't done anything to make her think differently except that rather awkward voicemail he left her. And maybe others may disagree, but I do think that if Tony feels threatened by another agent where his place with Gibbs is concerned, no matter how hot and pretty she is, he's going to feel defensive. :-) **


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I don't know how many folks caught it when I mentioned it in the first part, but this is a multi-story arc. Right now this story is meant to lay the foundation for the relationships between the BAU and NCIS, especially where Prentiss is concerned. In this universe I have planned for this story to include Emily's CIA/Interpol history which is why there was a discrepancy in her personnel record. I am trying to lay little things that will play into the later stories, so if you see something like that, most likely you're on the right track! Thank you for all the feedback. Several people suggested that this story be put in a few places because readers who might be interested didn't read crossovers or didn't read fic for one of the shows. I think I might change the parts slightly if this is an issue for the administrators as someone mentioned. Thanks to those who have left feedback and I hope people continue to do so! **

When Gibbs pushed open the conference room door, he found Emily leaning against the table, staring at the whiteboard. She had made a lot more progress that morning. More writing filled the whiteboard and additional photos of the different crime scenes were pinned neatly to the bulletin board in the room. A glance showed Gibbs that she had somehow managed to also get her hands on the preliminary reports they had from the construction site crime scene he, DiNozzo and David had found last night.

He moved quietly into the room to stand next to her and wordlessly handed her one of the coffee cups which she took without acknowledging him in any way. Gibbs remained quiet, simply sipping from his own coffee cup and allowing her to go through her process, knowing from the look on her face she was in the midst of reaching some conclusions.

"It's not a serial killer," she finally said in a low tone. "Or at least not one in the typical sense, but you already knew that."

"Scenes were too staged," Gibbs said in an equally quiet voice. "It was like he was making us think there was a serial killer out there. The roses, the poem, too phony."

Emily nodded. "Initially, you just have your run of the mill killer here trying to hide something and if I were to guess, there's either one or more of these victims who might have just been a cover for the real victim or victims the killer wanted to take out. The rest were probably just convenient targets to help cover up the true motive."

"Any guesses as to who those targeted victims were?"

"At least Finch and maybe Barnes and Weller," Emily replied as she pointed to the columns she had made for them on the whiteboard. "McGee's deeper research into their finances show that there are blips where they seem to have a bit more money than they're supposed to. Barnes' father is in a top notch and expensive nursing home. The paperwork shows that Barnes' sister has been paying the bills, but no way could she afford it on her income. She finally admitted to McGee that Barnes has been sending her the money to pay the bills. Weller bailed out his parents' family farm that had a huge mortgage on it and was about to foreclosed. They've admitted Weller gave them the money a few months ago. Some of your other victims might fit the same pattern, but their relatives may not be talking about it, yet."

"Desperate men, looking for large amounts of cash," Gibbs mused. "And Finch?"

"He was probably the biggest liability. Young, brash, and too open in how he was spending his money. Barnes and Weller went through family members who were desperate themselves and likely didn't ask too many questions regarding the origins of the funds, just happy to have it. Finch used that money for personal reasons. A fancy watch, taking his girl out to dinner…"

"You think Finch was the main target?" Gibbs looked at her with his piercing eyes.

She finally turned around to look at him for the first time this morning. "No, I think a couple of them were main targets. Whatever is going on, I think your killer is trying to clean house, maybe pack up whatever business he has going on. He's tying up loose ends and I don't know if he's finished or not with that part."

Gibbs tilted his head. "That's the second time you've alluded to this being something more."

Emily nodded slowly and turned her eyes back to the whiteboard. "The killer has a taste for killing now. I'm thinking he's starting to enjoy it and even if he closes down whatever business started all this, I'm not sure he's done killing." She turned back to look at him with troubled eyes. "I'm ready to give you a preliminary profile on your killer."

* * *

><p>When Ducky, Palmer and Abby heard Emily was about to give a profile of the killer, they couldn't resist sitting in on the briefing. Abby came rushing into the room in a swirl of black and red as she flew at Emily, throwing her arms around the FBI agent.<p>

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Abby cried out as she hugged Emily fiercely.

Emily gasped and waved a hand in distress at Gibbs.

"Abs, she can't breathe," he said to his forensics specialist as he gently pried the two women apart.

"Oh, sorry," Abby apologized as she stepped back. She grasped Emily's hands instead. "Thank you so much!"

"For what?" Emily looked at her with a puzzled smile.

"Four tickets to see Brain Matter in Annapolis!" Abby squealed in excitement. "Your friend Billy brought them over today." She did a little dance.

DiNozzo groaned. "Et tu, Abbé?"

Emily let out a little laugh at the younger woman's antics. "He did that fast. I only sent him a text message this morning when I was waiting downstairs."

Abby stopped dancing and looked at Emily in surprise. "Of course he was going to do it fast! It was for you! After what you did for him, Billy is going to do _anything_ for you! He brought the tickets himself and when I went downstairs to get them, he told me how you saved his life-"

"Abby," Emily interrupted the overly excited woman. She shot an embarrassed look at the others who all wore curious expressions on their faces. "It's not important. I'm glad you go the tickets."

Abby's face took on a surprised and serious look. "Emily, it is important. Why, if you hadn't stopped those Neanderthals from beating on Billy at that bar, he'd be dead."

"Well, all's well that end's well," she tried to gloss over her actions a few years ago. "Right now, we've got a killer to catch."

Abby nodded and gave her a small smile, understanding now that Emily actually felt embarrassed about having her heroics discussed publicly. Abby got that, but it only made the younger woman admire the FBI agent even more and definitely moved her high up on Abby's "like" list. She gave Emily's hand one more grateful squeeze and then took a seat at the conference table next to Ducky.

"Real terrible person who saves people from being killed at bars," McGee hissed gleefully in Tony's ear.

DiNozzo huffed at McGee

"Agent Prentiss," Gibbs said loudly, drawing everyone's attention to the whiteboard where both he and Emily stood. "Is ready to provide us with a preliminary profile of our killer." He nodded at Emily and went to stand at the back of the room, giving her the floor.

"In discussing this with Agent Gibbs, we have come to the conclusion we are dealing with someone who started out as not a serial killer, but was in fact attempting to masquerade his or her crimes as the work of one. We believe that the UNSUB, unknown subject, has targeted specific victims and are using the other killings as camouflage for his true intent.

"That intent is most likely some illegal venture that has a considerable financial aspect to it. Several of the victims have who have had personal financial issues have recently received large sums of money to take care of those issues. Aside from Dennis Finch, the latest victim, they have hidden their financial gains well.

"Given the fact that none of the victims had significant access to classified information, espionage is unlikely the UNSUB's hidden activity. Drugs, money laundering and perhaps some black market activity are the likely prospects. I do think the most likely option is narcotics."

"Why drugs?" McGee asked.

"Given the financial discrepancies in their histories, three likely targets were Finch, Barnes and Weller. I did some research and in each of the places where these three men were stationed, there's been a spike in narcotic activities. Due to this spike, command at these three operations were contemplating or beginning an in-depth investigation. That might have been what sparked the UNSUB's killing spree. The authorities were getting close and he needed to clean up loose ends.

"The killer is likely a male between 30 and 50. He is of above average height, likely six feet or more and considerable strength. Dennis Finch was a big man and he moved the body from one site to another. And given the size of the boot prints found at the construction site where Finch was killed, it seems to bear out that the killer is a large man. He is extremely intelligent and has at least some knowledge of forensic countermeasures. He also has access to a greenhouse. You don't get roses like these this time of year."

"Couldn't he just have gotten he flowers from a florist?" Palmer asked.

"Unlikely," Emily replied. "This specific breed of rose is very delicate and most florists would not be carrying it due to its fragility. He either has a greenhouse or access to it.

"I said he started off as not a serial killer, but someone with the goal of covering up another crime in mind. However, I think that has changed over the course of the killings. There were less wounds in earlier victims, they were more efficient but the latter ones have increasingly more vicious and numerous wounds. Additionally, we know Finch was subdued and given the way the blood pooled at the murder site, it appears the UNSUB took his time with Finch, torturing him after he was subdued. Given the amount of blood, the fatal blow was struck last. All the other ones were not mortal wounds and seemed deliberately placed as to cause pain, but not to kill.

"I think the killer has acquired a taste for this which means even if he finishes what originally was the reason behind these killings, I don't think he will stop killing." Emily's voice dropped a bit. "He likes it now."

The room was silent a moment and then, in a slightly challenging tone, Tony asked, "So, how do we find this greenhouse loving serial killer-to-be? Because seriously, you haven't really told us much of anything."

"Tony!" Abby chided as Gibbs and several others sent him disapproving looks.

Prentiss wasn't fazed and simply pulled a list from a file folder. "This is a list of recent reports of spikes in narcotic activities on places associated with the military, bases, ships, etc. I also compiled a list of sellers who carry the white rose. And lastly, the UNSUB needs to know that these men are desperate for money. Barnes and Miller applied for a loan from a shady operator named Rex Malloy. He seems to specialize in offering loans to military personnel."

"You did all that this morning?" Tony squeaked out in surprise.

Emily shrugged. "I'm a morning person."

Gibbs smirked at his senior agent. "McGee! Follow up with the flower angle. David, you're with me, we'll check out the drug activities. DiNozzo! You go with Prentiss to talk to this Rex Malloy." He gave Tony a warning look that he didn't want him hassling the FBI agent on the trip. He didn't know what was up with DiNozzo, Emily was the kind of woman the NCIS lothario typically would be all over, yet there were waves of hostility rolling off the younger man. As far as he could tell, there was no reason for it. In fact, Emily had had barely any contact with DiNozzo. Maybe they would work it all out during this interview with Malloy.

"Impressive presentation, Agent Prentiss," a voice said from the doorway.

Emily had noticed the man earlier when she was talking and knew who it was. Director Leon Vance came forward to shake her hand. "Director Vance, sir," she said politely.

Vance raised his eyebrow. After dealing with Gibbs and his crew for so long, he had forgotten what a polite and respectful tone sounded like. "I see I made the right call in reaching out to the Bureau." He shot a smirk at Gibbs.

"No one likes a know it all, Leon," Gibbs sighed as he moved around the other man to head out the door.

"Agent Prentiss, when things settle down, I like to have a chance to talk to you a bit more," Vance said to Emily as an impatient Tony waited by the conference room door. "The work you're doing at the FBI has me intrigued."

"As soon as we catch this killer, sir, I would be happy to discuss the BAU more with you," Emily replied. "Excuse me."

She hurried over to Tony, picking up her coat on the way and without missing a step. Tony followed her out of the room, rolling his eyes.

_Great, now even the Director liked her!_


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: If anyone is reading my "Reckoning" story for "Criminal Minds", you know that I've been super busy which is why it's taken so long for updates to be made to that story and this one. I apologize for that, but it's just the way things are going with work and life and at least for the month of July, they may not be easing up much to allow for more frequent updates. So I thank everyone for their patience and hope you continue reading and enjoying. I will say that I hope to have finished both "Reckoning" and this story before the Season 7 "Criminal Minds" premiere and I think I will. Thank you to everyone who has left comments. I appreciate the time and effort it takes to leave reviews. I do want to say that in response to comments where people believe things should go a certain way or be written a certain way, that it's partly my vision and how I see the characters but it's also a whole plot thing for what I have planned. And I do want to reiterate that this is only the first story in what I envision to be a trilogy, so for some of the things people question, there's a reason behind it and it's related to the whole, bigger story. So if you can hang on, great, but I understand if it's not your cup of tea. Anyway, I am still curious and interested in comments so if you wish to leave a review, it will be appreciated.**

Aaron Hotchner woke up early to look at the file Garcia had emailed to him late last night after she had gone back to her room. It was the information she had gathered on Agent Gibbs. Hotch had a few minutes before he needed to go downstairs to have breakfast with the rest of the team so he thought he take a quick look through the other man's file.

What he found was both impressive and sad. Leroy Jethro Gibbs was a decorated war veteran of the Persian Gulf War. The gunnery sergeant, who also was a sniper, had earned both the bronze and silver stars as well as a purple heart, the latter being awarded after he suffered injuries so severe, he was in a coma for weeks. If that injury alone wasn't enough, the man had also just lost his wife and young daughter, killed by a drug dealer the wife, Shannon, was a witness against.

Gibbs joined NCIS, then NIS, soon after the deaths of his wife and child and after he had recovered from his injuries. During his time at the agency, he had racked up countless commendations but also earned something of a reputation of being a political liability. However the man got results. Garcia of the magical fingers when placed on a keyboard had ferreted out all sorts of information written by past supervisors and directors that weren't typically in areas of one's personnel file that other agencies can access. The comments had common themes running through them. Gibbs was an exceptional agent. Determined, intelligent, skilled. He was also a loner, rigid and had issues with authority.

Hotch scrolled through more of the information. Gibbs came from a small town in Pennsylvania. No siblings. He got his degree in criminal justice doing night courses first at a community college and finished up earning his degree at American University. It had taken him six years to finally complete the degree. Everything the man accomplished, he had had to do it the hard way. It spoke to his determination and focus. Hotch could see there was much to admire about this Gibbs but he could also see where he could present problems for Prentiss.

How would this older, small-town, former Marine who was likely a traditionalist, old-school styled investigator react to a female profiler from another agency? Experience has taught Hotch that the answer would be not well. While he would bet on Prentiss to hold her own against practically anyone, he didn't like the idea of someone running roughshod over one of his people, especially Emily considering what she had been through the last few weeks. Couple with it that she would be completely alone with no other team member to back her up, it was a situation Hotch did not like at all.

He felt a prickle of guilt as he thought of his own behavior towards her during that time. All his actions were to protect the team and Emily herself, but he was honest enough to see that she could view it as a lack of support. Considering how their relationship began on less than friendly terms, entirely his own fault, he shouldn't be surprised that she had retreated from him, not returning his phone calls save for brief, professional text messages.

And that made him feel…sad. Alone. He hadn't realized how much he missed his interactions with the brunette until she wasn't there. No friendly smile or cheery greetings, no calm, insightful words when they were stuck on a case. He missed hearing her friendly bantering with Reid and Morgan. Hotch hadn't realized how in tuned he was to Emily's voice until it was gone.

He sighed softly and glanced at his phone. There were messages there, but none from the one person he could now honestly admit he was missing. Hotch glanced at his laptop one last time, staring at the personal file picture of Leroy Jethro Gibbs. The FBI agent's face darkened and his brows came together in a frown.

If this Gibbs gave his agent a hard time, there was going to be Hell to pay.

* * *

><p>For the third time, Emily stole a glance at DiNozzo. The man had been silent since they left the Naval Yard, but unlike Gibbs, the state of silence did not seem normal with this man. It took a bit of time for her to figure it out, but Emily realized that for some reason, DiNozzo was angry with her.<p>

Why, she didn't know. She had had barely any contact with the man. Most of her time had been spent with Gibbs or working alone in the small conference room. Despite his comments at the briefing earlier, she didn't think it had anything to do with doubting profilers. From what Ducky had told her in their early morning conversation today, he himself had given profiles to the team and one of their former teammates, Caitlin Todd, had had profiling training which Gibbs had used.

So it had to be her personally or something she did. She remembered Tony's initial reaction when learning she was from the FBI. There was always some competition and jockeying during cases if another agency became involved in some way, but she hadn't received this type of cool treatment from anyone else on Gibbs' team. If anything, from what little she had heard, if anyone was to give her the cold shoulder, it would have been Gibbs. However, he had been open and respectful and she had greatly enjoyed working with him so far.

It hit her then. She had been spending the majority of her time with Gibbs and that also meant he had been spending the majority of his time with her. She shot Tony a sidelong glance. Could he be jealous that Gibbs was paying so much attention to her? As Gibbs' apparent second-in-command, DiNozzo might perceive her presence and immediate rapport with Gibbs as threat. Ducky and Palmer had alluded to the fact that Gibbs' treatment of her appeared out of the norm for the man.

Emily pondered on how to reassure DiNozzo without basically calling him an insecure boy. She lightly chewed on her lip as she stared out the window.

"It must be interesting working for Gibbs," she began. She could feel Tony swing his sunglass covered eyes towards her though she kept staring out the passenger side window. "He definitely trusts all of you guys 100%."

"What do you mean by that?" suspicion dripped off of Tony's words.

"Gibbs has been spending all of his time with me, and not really hanging over you guys, so he knows that each of you knows how to do his or her job. You can't tell me that Gibbs isn't an alpha male who wants to be in control of everything."

"That is our Gibbs," Tony muttered.

"Well, for an alpha to give up that control to someone, means he trusts that person implicitly." Emily adjusted her sunglasses. "He's just met me and he's monitored each of my moves. It's only natural, I mean, he wants to see what I can do and that I don't muck up your investigation."

Tony shifted in his seat. "Right," he said doubtfully.

Emily decided she was going to have to give a little to get Tony to trust her a bit more. "I envy you guys that," she said softly. Tony swung his face towards her and she saw one eyebrow rise above his sunglasses in a questioning look. "I wasn't selected by my Unit Chief to join the BAU. I was foisted on him and he wasn't exactly pleased by it. For a while, he simply tolerated my presence. It felt like most of the people on the team did that. Not all, but I definitely had something to prove to some of them, in particular Hotch, the team leader, and his then well, he wasn't exactly a second-in-command. Hotch had the title, but they sort of tagged team. Co-captained. Neither one really wanted me around or trusted me."

"What did you do?"

"Worked harder than everyone else to prove I belonged there. Gideon, the co-captain, left a few months after I was put on the team. It took a while but Hotch and I got to a place of mutual respect. But then Matthew happened…" Her voice trailed off, realizing she was wading into waters she didn't really want to. What did it matter if DiNozzo was suspicious of her? As long as he didn't hamper the investigation, she could handle the hostility.

"Matthew?" Tony inquired gently. He could sense that this was a very personal topic for Prentiss and he couldn't help but feel a little surprised and honored that she wanted to share that with him, to make herself seem so vulnerable. People didn't usually do that with Tony, having a hard time getting past the happy-go-lucky persona he presented to the world. Trust did go both ways and if she was willing to go out on that limb with him, he had to respect and admire that about her.

Emily continued to hesitate, but the gentle tone Tony had used when saying Matthew's name made her believe she could trust this man. She looked at him speculatively and suspected that the brash, womanizing front DiNozzo put up probably covered up a pretty decent guy. She couldn't imagine the likes of Gibbs, Abby, Tim and Ducky putting up with anyone who wasn't.

In a soft voice, she explained briefly her relationship with Matthew, leaving out many details, but emphasizing how important he had been to her at a critical point of her life and how he had died and the subsequent investigation. As she had with Gibbs, Emily didn't criticize Hotch or her team, but like the older NCIS agent, Tony was able to read between the lines mainly because he knew in a similar situation, Gibbs would have backed him the entire way, throwing himself in front of whatever political pressure came down on them.

But the fact that Emily didn't say much about Hotch and her team told Tony it wasn't a subject she wanted to get into and he suspected if he did criticize them, the FBI agent would only defend them. He wisely decided not to talk about the BAU team.

"Well," he began. "That is one thing about Gibbs. He'll go to the wall for you. There was this one time a lab geek, Abby's lab geek in fact, framed me for murder. In fact, someone from your shop, the FBI, was ready to arrest me for it. Same thing with Ziva. One time she was framed for an assassination and the FBI was all over her. Gibbs bailed us both out. That's the boss. He'll go to the wall for you."

"And I bet he'll only do that for the people he cares most about," Emily said gently. Tony started to open his mouth and agree when he realized what she had just done. He shut his mouth and shot her a glance that was a mixture of annoyance, surprise, relief and grudging admiration. She smiled at him. "I'm not trying to take your place or force myself onto your team Tony. I'm just here to do a job and I'm glad Gibbs isn't making it hard for me to do it."

"I will say that you haven't been as pushy and annoying as other agents have been before you," Tony admitted.

Emily shook her head. "That's not how we do things at the BAU. We're here to help, not take over. Though if we strongly disagree with how things are being handled, we will speak up. You can count on me speaking up."

Tony gave her a genuine grin then. "Yeah, I kinda got the sense you weren't shy."

Emily laughed softly and returned her attention towards the passing scenery. She had at least reached a workable place with DiNozzo. He might not actually like her, but he didn't radiate as much suspicion and hostility as he had earlier, though both sentiments were still there. She understood. He was just being protective of his teammates. Hotch was much the same way. Hadn't she experienced some of that suspicion and hostility from him herself when she first joined his team?

_And it seems its still there_, she thought grimly. Emily had believed that she and Hotch had reached a good place in their relationship. They weren't close like he was to the other team members, but they no longer circled each other like wary animals, uncertain how the other would react. She thought he at least trusted her judgment and instincts and deserved his full support like he would give for anyone else on the team, but the last few weeks showed her that she was sadly mistaken.

She didn't know she had let out a small sigh until DiNozzo asked her if she was okay.

"Fine," she replied, sitting up straighter in her seat and allowing the cool mask of professionalism to slip over her features.

Tony sent her a sharp look, surprised with the speed and ease in her transition from engaging colleague to suddenly distant professional. It spoke of someone who was used to hiding things and some of that suspicion and concern edged its way back into him.

"It's just hard sometimes being the outsider," Tony murmured, instinctively taking a shot in the dark.

It was Prentiss' turn to look sharply at her companion. "I can't fault how anyone at NCIS has treated me," she responded carefully.

"I wasn't talking about NCIS."

"I know."

They gave each other a small smile of understanding and left it at that. They continued to ride in silence, each preoccupied with their own thoughts until Emily broke the silence again.

"You wouldn't happen to be related to an Anthony DiNozzo out of New York? One time Blakeslee Mueller investor?"

"My father," Tony sighed.

"I think I actually met him once." At DiNozzo's inquiring look she elaborated. "It was at some party my parents were throwing. It was the summer before I went to college. If I'm remembering correctly, a very charming man."

"That's my father," Tony gritted. She looked at him curiously. After a moment's hesitation, he sighed. "He wasn't always around much when I was growing up. Lots of private schools and summer camps."

Emily nodded understandingly. "It wasn't much better for me."

"Come on, an ambassador's kid? I would have thought it was exciting traveling around."

"Sure, if you like moving around every few months and starting over, never having any real friends because just when you're about to find one, you have to leave the country." Her voice held a note of bitterness.

"I hadn't thought about that," Tony admitted. He shot a look of amusement at her. "Well, that's one thing we have in common, crappy childhoods courtesy of our parents."

"Which caused both of us to wind up in law enforcement."

"Better than the other side."

Emily laughed out loud at this and DiNozzo joined her. He understood now why Gibbs seemed drawn to her. There was a warmth and ease about Emily Prentiss that drew solitary people towards her, like a sun drawing towards it cold, dead planets that eventually will feel life spring forth once the warm rays touch them. For someone like Gibbs who had years of ice layered on his surface, it must have been irresistible to bask just a little bit in Emily's warm glow.

It also hadn't escaped Tony's notice that Prentiss reminded him a little bit of Kate Todd. Attractive, intelligent brunettes with profiling backgrounds, there was just enough similarities between the two women to send off a whiff of familiarity that made one pause. Maybe that was why Gibbs seemed to take so easily to the FBI agent, it was the vague impression he had known her before.

Tony nodded to himself silently. That was probably what it was. Gibbs was initially reacting to those parts of Emily that reminded him of Kate. Add to it the fact that Prentiss hadn't bullied her way into the investigation, hadn't tried to take over or dictate the direction and pace of it like so many other outside agents had before her, it made it easier for Gibbs to accept her. His own latent fears of being replaced or shoved aside in favor of someone else eased some more and he began to relax a little.

Out of the corner of her eye, Emily could see some of the tension in Tony's shoulders dissipate a bit and hid her smile by turning to look out the passenger window. She was glad that they had come to an understanding. She truly had liked everyone she had met at NCIS. They didn't need to like her but it helped if they were at least cordial to each other. And Emily had to admit that after the last few weeks where she felt uncertain about her relationship and position with her own BAU team, it was nice to feel welcomed and liked. As much as it was about the success of the investigation, Emily was honest enough to admit it was also important to her personally.

* * *

><p>Rex Malloy was slimy, repellent and reminded Emily both physically and figuratively of a snake. He had taken one look at her and propositioned her and hadn't stopped the entire fifteen minutes they had been there.<p>

After Malloy's first rude comment towards her, DiNozzo had stepped in front of Emily. He may have been a dog himself where women were concerned, but a streak of protectiveness ran deeply through Tony like it did for every member of Team Gibbs. However, Prentiss wasn't having any of it and immediately stepped around him to stand shoulder to shoulder as they both questioned the money lender.

Malloy only confirmed what they had suspected earlier, that both Barnes and Miller had approached him for a loan, which he had turned them down. Even a snake like Malloy had considered them too high of a risk. But he had said something interesting. He noted that business had slowed in the last few months, but hadn't been able to find another lender working the area.

"Maybe the soldier boys were just being more careful with their money," he cracked as his eyes roamed over Emily's body yet again, lingering on her breasts.

With nothing more to add, Prentiss had almost rolled her eyes and started to move towards the door while Tony was giving the usual, "thanks for your time" and handing Malloy his business card. That was why Emily was the first to see him.

She had just opened the door and was standing next to it, holding the door open for DiNozzo as he finished up. She was standing to the side of the doorway instead of directly in it. DiNozzo, was perfectly framed by the doorway, his back towards it while Malloy was in front of him, facing the doorway.

Both Emily and Malloy saw the man with the gun running up to the office, his gun pointing for Malloy but with Tony standing before the other man, it was almost guaranteed that any bullet fired had a high probability of hitting the NCIS agent first.

Acting purely on instinct, Emily started to shove the door close and dove into Tony to knock him out of the path of the bullet. Malloy had seen the shooter and was already ducking, surprising Tony who started to turn around to see what had elicited such a reaction from the other man. He was hit by Emily's body and both agents fell hard on the floor, Tony's head smacking sharply against it. Emily fell down next to him, her own head hitting the floor too. Glass from the door was shattered by a storm of bullets and the sharp shards rained down on them. Tony instinctively covered his face from the flying glass and felt a sharp prick on the back of his hand.

Slightly dazed, but with his wits still about him, Tony withdrew his gun and pointed it at the shooter who was standing in the doorway pulling the trigger of the now empty gun. "NCIS! Drop your weapon!"

The shooter looked blankly at where Malloy and Tony had stood a moment earlier and continued to fire the now harmless gun. Tony leapt to his feet, knocked the shooter down and handcuffed him.

"Prentiss! Malloy! You okay?" Tony barked out as he secured his prisoner.

Malloy peeked up from underneath the desk where he had taken cover and nodded, his hand already reaching for the phone to call the police.

Tony realized Emily hadn't answered him nor had she moved. He hastened to her side and gently rolled her over.

That was when he saw the blood.

* * *

><p><strong>AN 2:** **Yes, Tony came around, a little. He's not quite all the way there yet, but he's a bit more understanding about Emily being there. And for those wondering, yes, there will be an Emily/Ziva scene too. For those who question why Emily seems to be fitting in so easily into Team Gibbs it's because considering who Emily is, her background, experiences, personality, I think she **_**would**_** fit well and easily among them. She's smart, warm, generous, willing to stand up for herself, but not pushy or arrogant. The pushiness and arrogance have been traits that have caused Team Gibbs to close ranks. Someone **_**not**_** exhibiting those traits but ones that they each can appreciate will naturally lead to more ready acceptance, IMO.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: No, I'm not mean. The cliffhanger wasn't that long of one. Consider it a Fourth of July gift. Enjoy!**

Gibbs' driving was scaring Ziva. She held on tightly to the passenger door handle, her feet braced against the floorboards. She stole a look at her boss who's faced remained tight and expressionless.

They were headed back to the Naval Yard when Tony's call came through to Gibbs. The older agent had immediately turned the car around. When she had asked what had happened, all Gibbs said was, "DiNozzo and Prentiss were fired upon. She's hurt."

That was the extent of their conversation and Ziva had spent the ride praying for her life. And they say she was a crazy driver.

She stole another glance at Gibbs' whose expression had not changed. She had never seen him like this before, not with someone he had just met. She had seen Gibbs' physically attracted to other women, but right now he was exhibiting a level of concern and protectiveness that he typically only showed for those closest to him. Ziva did not think Gibbs and Prentiss had met before this case, but some how the FBI agent had managed to get around Gibbs' barriers.

Was it a calculated move on the woman's part? Ziva wondered. She dismissed the idea but then paused. The best argument against that theory is Gibbs himself. He was not easily fooled and would be able to spot someone only trying to ingratiate themselves with him. _But then again, no one is without flaws and maybe this is the one time he didn't spot a spam._ Ziva paused. _No, that word was not right. Scam. Maybe he didn't spot a potential scam._ Ziva had not spent any time with Agent Prentiss, so she really had no opinion of the woman, but everyone, save Tony, seemed to like her…a lot.

She knew Tony's dislike had come from his insecurities, but perhaps she was being hasty. Tony had very good instincts though she would never admit it aloud. Maybe on some basic level, or gut level as Gibbs would say, he saw something that was not quite right about Emily Prentiss.

She looked again at her boss and noticed the tight fingers on the steering wheel, the slight frown in his brow. He was very, very worried about Prentiss and that just did not seem right given how short of time he had known her.

No, it would be best if Ziva kept her eye on Emily Prentiss.

* * *

><p>When the call came in from DiNozzo informing him that Emily Prentiss had been hurt by a gunman, the first thing that popped into Gibbs' mind was<p>

_God, not another woman dying on my watch._

Shannon, Kelly, Kate, Jenny, Ziva almost dying in Somalia, was he doomed to have women associated with him killed?

Now Emily Prentiss who seemed to have bits of all those women inside of her, but yet was still someone unique. He could see Jenny's determination, Shannon's warmth, Kate's intelligence, Ziva's decisiveness and beneath that sophisticated exterior, still a bit of innocence and charm that was similar to what had filled Kelly.

Maybe that was why he was so drawn to this woman from the FBI. Gibbs wasn't entirely certain, but he did know that his heart started to race when he heard she had been hurt.

DiNozzo had assured him the injuries were minor, but Gibbs' heart wouldn't slow until he had seen Emily for himself.

The pulled up sharply in the parking lot of the building where Rex Malloy had his offices, the seatbelts the only thing that prevented Gibbs and Ziva from smacking into the dashboard. They were out of the car immediately and striding over to where they could see Tony talking to a LEO. He saw them coming towards them and excused himself to meet them halfway.

"What happened?" Gibbs barked out.

Succinctly, Tony related the events and then gave Gibbs a sheepish glance. "Emily got cut by some of the flying glass, but the paramedics are more concerned by the fact that she was unconscious for a few minutes. They're insisting she go to the hospital to get checked out, but she's also insisting on not going."

"Who was the gunman?" Ziva asked.

"An angry customer. He was coming here to exact a little justice on Malloy. I don't think he's connected to the case."

"Ziva, go check him out," Gibbs said, thrusting his chin towards the gunman who was sitting in the back of a patrol car. It was clear he wanted to talk to Tony alone and Ziva, after a glance at both men, hurried off.

They stared at each other for a moment before Tony finally said, "I'm sorry boss. I should have been more aware of what was going on. Agent Prentiss, well, I've been suspicious of her, but she saved my life."

"Do you know why I sent you out with Prentiss today?" Gibbs asked softly.

Tony looked at him uncertainly. "To work out any issues I had with her?"

"Uh huh, that's part of the reason, but do you know what the other reason was?" Gibbs looked at him expectantly, but Tony merely gazed back at him with a blank expression. "I know Emily is a smart investigator and profiler but I have no idea how she would handle herself in a dangerous situation. Will she be a hindrance or a help? Will she fold under fire? I need someone I know who can keep himself and her safe if she couldn't handle herself. That's why if I'm not with her, I needed to know the person who could do that the best was." He stepped closer towards Tony who reflexively expected a swat on the head. "Rule six, never apologize, especially when there's nothing to apologize for. You did okay, DiNozzo." He walked away towards the ambulance where Emily was being looked at.

Tony simply stood there, stunned and with a goofy smile on his face. Ziva came up to him.

"Are you okay, Tony?" she asked hesitantly.

"I'm still number 1!" he exclaimed with an enthusiastic double fist pump.

* * *

><p>Gibbs could hear her complaining and allowed a small smile to creep over his face. Anyone that loud was fine.<p>

"I do not have to go to the hospital for a small bump on my head," Emily snarled at the EMT.

"You lost consciousness for five to ten minutes. It could be a concussion," the older EMT, a woman in her 50s replied. She was used to dealing with stubborn law enforcement officers. Next to doctors, they were the worst patients. "No excuses."

"I agree," Gibbs interjected as he came up towards them. He shot a searching look at Emily. "How are you doing?"

"I am _fine_," Emily proclaimed loudly. "But tell that to my jailor here." She jerked a thumb towards the EMT who simply smirked.

"She's going to the hospital."

Gibbs nodded. He peered closely at Emily. Some of the flying glass from Malloy's door had cut Emily across one cheek and forehead. Another had slashed through her hand. They were minor injuries taken care of by a few unattractive band aids, but none of them required stitches. It was the head injury that was more problematic. Already a pale woman, Gibbs could see she looked as white as sheet and there was a bit of glassiness in her eyes.

Emily was mentally kicking herself. She hated hospitals and she wouldn't be going to one if she hadn't hit her stupid head. She _knew_ how to fall without hurting herself, but somehow she had gotten tangled up with DiNozzo in a way where they both managed to have knocked their heads on the ground. If DiNozzo hadn't managed to keep his wits about him and remain conscious, the whole situation would have turned out much worse.

"All right, let's get going," the EMT said.

Emily sighed in exasperation and she turned to look appealing at Gibbs. "You're going to the hospital," was his response.

At that moment Tony and Ziva came up and she looked hopefully at them for support.

"Don't look at me," DiNozzo held up his hands. "I know better than to disagree with the boss." His gaze softened a moment as he looked at Emily. "Thanks for having my back."

"You would have done the same for me," Prentiss replied.

"You certain of that?" he joked.

She looked at him for a moment with a smile. "I bet my life on it."

Gibbs watched the exchanged, satisfied that whatever had been bothering DiNozzo was settled. "David, go with Prentiss to the hospital. Take DiNozzo's car."

"I don't need a babysitter," Emily protested as Tony said at the same time, "I can go with her."

"No, David is going with her to make sure she actually gets checked out and DiNozzo, you need to come with me. We've got to explain to the FBI why one of their agents got hurt helping out in our investigation."

"Who are you talking to?" Emily asked, concerned that it would be Hotch.

"Uh, someone named Strauss."

Ugh, that wasn't much better. "Good luck with that one."

Gibbs shot her an inquiring look and Emily explained. "Wicked Witch of the FBI. I think the statutes in her garden are those enemies she's turned to stone with one look."

"I think I can handle her," Gibbs replied, his lips quirking slightly at Emily's description of the FBI section chief.

"Well, she's probably better than dealing with my supervisor, Agent Hotchner," sighed Emily as she moved back into the ambulance and took a seat. "Now, he will be a pain in the ass to deal with."

* * *

><p>The team was feeling a little buoyed by a mini-breakthrough Reid had on the geographic profile. They were still a long way off, but that small clue he found lifted everyone's spirits and they started their hunt with renewed vigor.<p>

Hotch had just finished doling out the assignments to his team when his cell phone rang. They looked at him curiously and then dismissed the call from their minds when they heard him say, "Chief Strauss" by way of greeting. He was starting to move out of the conference room they were in to find a little privacy for his call when he stopped in the doorway and they heard him say,

"What? Is she okay? How badly hurt was she?"

The rest of the team looked worriedly at him, afraid something might have happened to Haley or another family member.

"Where was Gibbs when Prentiss was hurt?"

Alarm flooded everyone's body when they realized that it was Emily who had been injured. They started to gather closer around Hotch, trying to figure out what was going on.

"I knew it was a mistake letting her do this solo," Hotch barked into the phone, not caring he was speaking insubordinately to his superior. "Chief Strauss, Prentiss should have never been assigned to this NCIS case without my approval and definitely not without someone to back her up. Now _my_ agent is hurt." He paused as he listened. "Did you speak to Prentiss directly? No? Then we only have Gibbs' word that the injuries are minor and considering I do not know the man and he's managed to get my agent injured, I'm not sure I truly believe it or his story until I talk to Agent Prentiss myself." There was another pause. "No, Chief Strauss, it will not satisfy me speaking to Gibbs, I want to talk to Prentiss personally and unless I do, I am flying back there right now."

They could hear Strauss' loud squawking now. She was furious that Hotch was ignoring her orders. They saw that cold, resolute look appear on the unit leader's face and knew he was not going to budge on this one and he told Strauss this.

Suddenly the voice at the other end seemed to take a more moderate tone as the others could no longer hear Strauss shouting. She was saying something to Hotch, an attempt to reason with him.

"That might be acceptable," he finally said, reluctance in every word. "Assuming they have the equipment here." Hotch sighed. "Fine," he snapped. "If it can be arranged in the next three hours, I won't fly back, but if it's not and NCIS continues to stonewall us, I'm flying back tonight." He hung up and spun around. Hotch stepped back in surprise when he found himself practically nose to nose with the rest of the team, not realizing everyone had been slowly inching closer towards him, trying to hear what was going on.

"Emily was hurt?" Rossi asked in concern.

Hotch nodded grimly. "Some shoot out when she and an NCIS agent went to go question a witness. They say the injuries are minor but no one at the Bureau has seen or heard from her. Garcia, see if you can get Emily on her cell phone. Everyone else, try texting or emailing her to see if she answers that way. Even if she does, still try calling her. I want someone to at least hear her voice."

"What was the three hour window you gave Strauss?" Morgan asked.

"I demanded a video conference with Prentiss and the NCIS agent in charge of the investigation," Hotch replied. "I want to see for myself that she's okay and I want it made clear that it was unacceptable that my agent got hurt under his watch. Garcia, check to see if they have conferencing capabilities here and coordinate with the Bureau and NCIS to set up the links." He spun around and walked out of the room to collect himself.

Hotch exited the small Montana police station. It was bitterly cold outside, but he didn't care. He needed the cool air to help calm down his hot temper.

_Damn it!_ He knew it was just asking for trouble letting Prentiss do the consult alone. Every time that woman was out his sight, she got hurt.

His anger had kept the sickening feeling at bay, but now that he acknowledged what was truly been bothering him, Hotch bent over and put his hands on his knees.

She was hurt again and he wasn't there to protect her.

It was Cyrus all over again, that feeling of helplessness that someone he cared about was hurt and he was powerless to stop it. More often than not he found himself feeling this way where Emily Prentiss was concerned.

Once again, Hotch felt as though he had failed Emily Prentiss.

* * *

><p><strong>AN 2: Just a bit of a hint, remember, I said that this is a trilogy and I am taking into consideration the Doyle part of Emily's history. So keep those two things in mind and maybe you'll see where I'm planning on taking some of these things.**


	11. Chapter 11

"Video conferencing equipment?" Deputy Wilson repeated as Penelope Garcia waited expectantly. "Yes ma'am, I believe we've got something that can accommodate you."

Garcia smiled politely, certain all she was going to get was some low grade webcam that would make her think the one on her lap top would probably be better, but Hotch told her to check with the Deputy.

Wilson led her back to the conference room they had been assigned to. When they walked in, JJ and Reid looked at them curiously and Garcia sent the Deputy a puzzled look. She hadn't seen any video equipment in the room and she had been in there for 18 hour days the past five days.

Wilson pulled a remote that was in a credenza drawer and pointed it at the large, mounted map of Montana. Silently, the map began to rise up into the ceiling and what was revealed underneath it was a large, flat screen monitor that measured some five by three feet. He pressed a few buttons to call up the video link screen and handed the remote to Garcia.

"You just dial in whatever number you need and our system will connect you right up." His eyes twinkled when he looked at Garcia's shocked face. "Ma'am, we may be rural, but it don't mean we're uncivilized."

* * *

><p>Ziva David handed Emily Prentiss the tea she had procured from the hospital cafeteria. The FBI agent nodded her thanks and Ziva sat down in the chair she had vacated earlier when she went in search of refreshments. When they had arrived in the emergency room, Prentiss had been examined fairly quickly and whisked off for a CT scan. That was three hours ago. They had at least been allowed to wait in a small examine room, or rather Emily had been. Ziva spent the time going in and out of the room constantly, either on the phone with NCIS or doing something, like getting tea. The NCIS agent hadn't sat still longer than five minutes.<p>

"How long does it take to look at an X-ray?" Ziva burst out in exasperation. She fidgeted and began to tap her fingers against her knee.

Emily watched her curiously, having nothing else to do. There wasn't even an old magazine lying around in the exam room. She noticed that Ziva could not seem to sit still. At first, it just seemed like impatience, but the more Emily watched her, the more she believed the small room itself was having a negative impact on the other woman.

She watched as Ziva's fingers started to tap in a distinct rhythm and she immediately recognized the pattern and what it meant.

"How long were you held?" she asked gently. She looked abashed, realizing she had spoken out of turn asking a woman she didn't know something very personal. However, she had felt the need to offer some type of help to Ziva who was in obvious distress.

Ziva looked sharply at her. "What do you mean?" she shot back harshly.

Emily mentally kicked herself. In more than one ways, she had stumbled into a sticky situation, but it was too late to back out now. "The finger tapping. Tim mentioned to me last night that you're former Mossad. The tapping, it's an exercise to help agents keep focus when held in captivity and…tortured," Emily said gently. "I recognized the pattern."

Ziva's eyes narrowed at her. "And how would you know Mossad training tactics?"

The lie flowed easily from Emily's lips. "In profiling, we've learned about different coping mechanism, including various ones from other foreign intelligence agencies."

Ziva's still narrowed eyes clearly indicated she was not convinced and Emily silently berated herself again.

"I was not aware that the FBI training was so…extensive," the Israeli woman said slowly. She leaned back in her chair and folded her arms across her chest. Perhaps this Emily Prentiss was more interesting than she initially thought. "Somalia. This past summer. I was on an assignment for Mossad and was captured by the terrorist I was targeting."

"How long?"

"Four months," was Ziva's brittle response. She turned to look away. "It was not a pleasant experience."

"No," Emily said softly. "I wouldn't expect it to be." She paused a moment. "We have our own ways of dealing with these things. I hope you've found a way that works for you."

"I believe I have," Ziva replied carefully.

Emily nodded. "Good." She felt she had already strayed way too far into an area she had no right to go into but one thing did puzzle her. "An assignment for you father? I recognized the last name," Emily explained when Ziva gave her a raised eyebrow. "Eli David, head of Mossad."

Ziva nodded. "Yes. An assignment for my father."

"Oh, so Mossad got you out."

"No, it was Gibbs, Tony and McGee."

"Wait, NCIS rescued you? What about Mossad?"

"It was too high of a risk for Mossad to try to save me," Ziva replied flatly as she shifted uncomfortably in her chair.

Emily regarded her with unfathomable eyes and Ziva returned the look. The FBI agent's voice was low and quiet, but it was laced with understanding on a deeper level. "I know how hard it is to be considered secondary by one's parent when they feel that a greater good might be at stake."

Ziva sent her another sharp look, but this time what she saw in Prentiss' face seemed to assure her. She knew from Tony's poking around in Emily's personnel file that that the FBI agent's mother was an ambassador, a life Ziva knew was likely not as glamorous as it sounded, not for a child.

Ziva desperately wanted to change the subject and simply did. "So, what was it like growing up the daughter of an ambassador? You must have traveled extensively."

It was Emily's turn to scuttle back and hide. A shuttered look that Ziva herself was intimately familiar with, having some version of one herself, fell over Prentiss' face.

"It was…not as glamorous as many would think."

David's lips twisted into a smile, hearing her own thoughts echoed back to her. She nodded her head gently.

"Still, it must have been interesting visiting so many foreign places. Where did your family live?"

"Mainly Europe and the Middle East."

"Really? Israel?"

"I've been there visiting with my family, but we were in mainly in Saudi Arabia and Egypt."

_Did you pick up any Arabic?_ Ziva asked her in Arabic.

_Yes,_ Emily replied. _I'm fluent in it and several other languages._

_What languages?_

_Arabic, French, Spanish, Italian, German. I'm not as good in Russian and Farsi but I can get by. I've got a smattering of Czech and Polish."_

Ziva's eyebrows rose at the extensive and impressive list. What was she doing with the BAU at the FBI? She wasn't even in counter terrorism. Curiosity came roaring back in Ziva. This woman had too many skills for the position she was in now.

"It was hard making friends though," Emily continued. She looked carefully at Ziva, seeing the wheels turning in the NCIS agent's head, but not sure in what direction they were going. "Just when I seemed to be getting somewhere, we were moving again. My mother was- is- a very good diplomat and she was often needed in certain places."

The Israeli woman's expression softened marginally when she heard the slight hint of wistfulness in Emily's voice. She could understand the longing. Ziva's own childhood consisted of being prepared to become what she is today, an agent. She remembered strife and danger given her country, but also fun and friendships. She remembered Ari. She remembered Jamil. She remembered a dozen close friends. She wondered if this woman had such fond memories as she did or was her childhood isolated and lonely? As unusual as her own was, Ziva could admit she was never lonely, but what about a child in a foreign country? Was Prentiss one of those Embassy children whose parents kept her separated from the natives, isolated in a rarified bubble, safe, but alone.

While she kept her expression open, Emily was warily watching Ziva. She had let a few too many things slip to the former Mossad officer who would be able to spot them more easily than even anyone on her BAU team. Her time at the FBI has made her relax too much, made her careless. She was working now with a group of agents who had far more international experience than her entire BAU team combined. They would not be as easy to throw off the scent.

While Ziva might have had her suspicions about Emily's past, they were irrelevant. Emily Prentiss was here to help them find a killer and if she had some former job with an intelligence agency, it wasn't any of Ziva's business unless the woman was conspiring against the US government. Ziva didn't think that was happening and Prentiss was simply keeping quiet, most likely was required to, about her past work. If anyone understood that, it was Ziva. Now that she was no longer with Mossad, she didn't really advertise the fact that she used to be one of their agents. She was an NCIS agent now and that was all that mattered. She could sense the anxiety in Emily, fear that she might have inadvertently revealed too much.

"Our past shapes us, but it doesn't dictate who we are today," Ziva said, looking intently at Emily. She was silently telling the FBI agent that she had no interest in digging deeper in any past career choices Emily may have made.

Prentiss relaxed slightly, getting the message. "No. We choose our own paths and decide who we want to be."

The two women regarded each other silently and simultaneously nodded; an acknowledgment of their understanding.

Any potential further discussion was derailed when the doctor came back in to inform Emily she had a mild concussion but would not require hospitalization. However, she wasn't to spend the night alone and if she had any dizziness, blurred vision or nausea she needed to immediately come back to the hospital. She was released and the two women left as quickly as possible, making their way back to NCIS.

Along with McGee, Abby, Ducky and Palmer were waiting for them in the bullpen. As soon as she saw Emily, Abby hurried forward and enveloped her in a bear hug.

"Emily! We've been so worried about you! I know Tony and Gibbs said it wasn't serious, but I needed to see for myself."

"How are you, my dear?" Ducky asked in a worried tone. "What did the doctor say?"

"It's just a mild concussion," Emily replied in a dismissive voice. "I've had those before. I'm fine."

"But she is not to spend the night alone, the doctor said," Ziva added as she shrugged off her coat. "I have offered her my couch."

"Ugh, after getting a concussion the last place I would want to sleep is that lumpy couch of yours Ziva," Abby wrinkled her nose. "No, you can stay with me."

"In a coffin?" Ziva exclaimed, earning a startled look from Emily. "How is that more comfortable?"

"Entirely unnecessary," Ducky responded. "I have a spare guest room."

"Prentiss isn't going anywhere except to come up here to MTAC," a voice growled from the upper level.

They turned their eyes upward and saw Gibbs leaning against the railing watching his team welcome back the wounded FBI agent. He heard the offers being made to Emily regarding tonight and once again, he was struck by how easily she had fitted in with his team. Even when McGee and Ziva joined, it took a while for them to be fully accepted by everyone, himself included.

Maybe it was the vague similarities to Kate Todd that everyone was responding to. Or it could simply be that Emily Prentiss provided something that was missing from all of their lives and they were only realizing that now. Either way, Gibbs couldn't ignore the fact that he was just as drawn to the tall, lithe brunette as much as anyone.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry folks, the Gibbs/Hotch showdown and Emily/Hotch "face-to-face" interaction are in the next part. For anyone reading my Criminal Minds story "Reckoning", you'll understand some of what I'm about to say, but I have in my mind that Emily's father is connected to the intelligence community in the US. If he is, then a lot of Emily's background parallels Ziva's. Where Tony and Ziva are concerned, I do see a lot of background similarities with Emily. For me, it points to part of the reason why I can see the NCIS agents actually being a little more accepting and in tune with who Emily is in a lot of ways, especially where her past and Doyle are concerned, than the BAU agents might. And add to it, that the majority of Team Gibbs have extensive international/undercover intelligence experience under their belt and at least Gibbs and Ziva have done some less than desirable things in their past, I really think they would understand the Doyle situation better than Team Hotch. But that is for the third story of this trilogy.**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Thank you all for your patience and kind words. I'm surprised my little crossover here has gotten such a positive response. I'm truly glad folks are enjoying it. I also didn't know that Pauley Perrette and Kristen Vangsness both had expressed a wish for an actual episode crossover (thanks to the person who mentioned that to me!). Let's hope that happens some day. PSSSTTTT! They can use this story! ;-) It's just the beginning of the Hotch/Gibbs showdown in this part, mainly because it was getting to be too long, but you get the set up and the start of it. It hints at how it'll all go. Let's just say, many of you probably have an idea of how well it will actually go! If you have a moment, I would appreciate some feedback so please leave a review if you can. Thanks!**

Emily looked up at the NCIS team leader who had just ordered her to go upstairs and join him in MTAC. She arched an eyebrow, wondering why her presence was requested in that high security clearance room where most visitors were excluded. She excused herself and slowly made her way towards and then up the stairs, realizing that each step she took required a bit more effort than it should have on her part. By the time she reached the second floor where Gibbs was waiting for her, she felt a bit winded, tired and her head began to ache again. She straightened her back, attempting to make sure Gibbs did not noticed her weaken state, but she could see from that level gaze he gave her that his sharp eyes had not missed how she had labored in making that short walk.

Now that she was up close, Gibbs could see that Emily Prentiss was still a little glassy eyed and pale. The effort that it took for her to climb the stairs also did not go unnoticed. He peered closely at her, wondering if she was going to pass out on him. She saw his perusal and her spine stiffened. She stood a little straighter, taller. A defiant look came into her eyes as if she was daring him to try to send her back to the hospital or home with one of the people who had offered her a place to stay tonight. Gibbs almost grinned at her stubbornness. Almost. He merely jerked his head towards the doors of MTAC and said, "Come on. Someone wants to speak to us." He turned and led the way, stooping down to let the scanner check his eye and confirm that it was indeed Leroy Jethro Gibbs requesting entrance.

Emily looked curiously around the room. It was dominated by a large screen and several smaller ones. Along the left hand side were several consoles that had four people monitoring and working the elaborate communication and tracking equipment. Comfortable chairs were placed theater styled in the other half of the room before the large screen and Emily could see that Tony was already there.

"Ah, our little loaner agent is back." DiNozzo examined Emily closely. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. The injuries are minor. Actually, the worst part was the drive back. Please tell me that Ziva's driving is some sort of hazing thing you guys do to agents from other agencies. Because honestly, I question NCIS' judgment allowing that woman to continue to drive on American soil."

Gibbs grinned slightly as DiNozzo replied, "Not hazing. That's Ziva's normal driving style, but I will say you do give me a good idea. Maybe I should suggest that in the probie training course. You know, see who can hold onto their lunches after riding around with Ziva."

Emily wrinkled her nose. "That would be one foul smelling car after a short period of time."

"You do have a point," Tony nodded, wrinkling his nose in distaste as he considered the state of the car after a few trips.

"I would like to get back to the job," Gibbs interrupted in an annoyed voice.

"Sorry, sir," Emily said, her face dropping into a serious expression. "Why am I up here?"

"Earlier we spoke to your section chief. Strauss," Gibbs replied.

Emily grimaced. "Oh, I'm sure that was…interesting."

"I'm just glad it was via video," Tony noted. "I think you have to be in person for Medusa to turn you into stone."

"I warned you that she was something," Emily replied. She frowned. "If you've already spoken to Strauss, then why are we up here?"

"Someone else has demanded that they speak to us and to you personally," Gibbs replied, annoyance lacing his voice.

Emily frowned. If Strauss had her shot to chew out Gibbs, she couldn't think of anyone else he needed to talk…oh no. Realization hit her and Emily closed her eyes as she sighed. "Let me guess, Agent Hotchner?"

"Yep." While he was annoyed he had to make nice with the FBI, delaying his investigation, Gibbs understood the need for this Hotchner to see and speak to his agent. Had it been one of his people who had been loaned out without his knowledge, he would have demanded a chance to speak to them and definitely to check up on them if they had been hurt. In fact, he would have made sure they were pulled off whatever they were working on and he would have flown wherever they were to personally see that happened.

And Gibbs was also curious to see what this Agent Hotchner was like. From what little Emily had said and more importantly, what she had _not_ said, he suspected their relationship was…strained. The fact that Hotchner was doing this all by video, not in his face in person, told Gibbs that the BAU team was not as closely knit as his own. Or maybe it was just Emily. Which made him wonder, if the latter was the case, why?

Emily was mortified. Hotch was calling in to check up on her like some wayward child. How can she hold her head up with these NCIS agents, especially Gibbs, who seemed to pride themselves on their stalwartness and independence if she needed to be checked up on by Supervisory Special Agent in Charge Aaron Hotchner. Would he demand daily reports? Would he constantly call Gibbs to see if her performance was up to par? Panic rose in her. What was Hotch going to say?

"So, how much of a hard ass is this guy?" Tony asked, completely oblivious to Gibbs' intense curiosity and Emily's mini-internal meltdown. "Because I gotta tell you boss, between telling the Director what happened, then Nurse Ratchet and now this Hotchner, we've wasted a LOT of time telling the same story over and over again."

"It'll take as long as it takes, DiNozzo," Gibbs said evenly, his eyes focused on Emily.

She wanted to squirm under that intense blue gaze, but refused to do so. Her training as an ambassador's daughter had a course on how to not let someone see your nerves. However, one habit she had never been able to break was picking her fingernails which she began to do when she figured out it was Hotch with whom they would be speaking.

If Gibbs noticed the fingernail picking tic, he gave no indication. He merely looked over at one of the technicians and nodded at that person to connect the call.

* * *

><p>Hotch glared at Garcia who shrugged helplessly at him. "I'm sorry, sir, but they said they would call us."<p>

They had been waiting twelve minutes already for NCIS to contact them. That agency had cited "security issues" when Garcia and then Hotch had suggested initiating the call. Hotch was getting beyond annoyed. He knew what Gibbs was doing. The other man was trying to shift all the power of this conversation to his side by dictating when the call would start. Well, Aaron Hotchner was not a man easily intimidated, if he could be at all.

"This should be interesting," Rossi murmured to Morgan as they settled down against a credenza that was directly opposite the video camera and the screen. They would have a good look at Agent Gibbs and Emily here and thanks to the small viewing window that showed their end of the transmission in the bottom of the larger screen's corner, they could also see Hotch's face though his back was turned to them.

"Hotch seem off to you?" Morgan asked.

Rossi let out a soft bark of laughter. "Yeah. I don't think he's doing too well with Prentiss not here."

"What do you mean? We've been down a man before." Derek gave him a puzzled look.

"A man, but not a woman. Particularly a pretty brunette with big brown eyes." Rossi's own eyes twinkled at Morgan. Heck, even if he was dead wrong about Hotch having romantic feelings for Emily, the look on Derek's face was worth it.

"Seriously?" Derek sneaked a look over at Hotch. "I mean, you really think?"

Dave smirked at him and nodded. "Trust me, the man was way too conflicted during the whole Matthew Benton case not to be. He wanted to help Emily, but couldn't, and he tore himself apart over it. Plus, you should have seen the way he glared at John Cooley when he came to talk to Emily at the BAU."

"That bad?" Derek was grinning by now.

"He was glaring at Cooley with the same look he gave the State Attorney General in Colorado."

"Ouch. And Cooley made it out of the BAU in one piece?"

"We had Hotch trapped in his office." Rossi nodded towards their team leader who was once again harassing Garcia about the connection. "He's also feeling more than a little bit of regret over how that Benton thing went down. He feels he didn't back Emily enough."

"I'm not sure any of us really did," Morgan admitted ruefully.

"Speak for yourself," Rossi huffed in offense.

"Sorry, present company excluded." Morgan paused as he watched Garcia explain, again, why she simply couldn't connect to NCIS herself. "You think Prentiss is pissed off at us and that's why we haven't gotten a phone call from her in days?"

"Probably," Rossi replied. When Derek turned startled eyes towards him, the older man sighed. "Wouldn't you be? Just give her time to cool off. A lot of heavy stuff came down on her with Benton and Cooley so she needs some space and time. If we're hanging all over her, it'll just irritate her instead of helping her."

"Uh, you might want to tell that to Hotch," Morgan said as he jerked his chin towards the other agent. "I get the feeling, if you're right and he's into Prentiss, he's gonna want to hover, because you know, he's Hotch. Hotch hovers over people he really cares about."

"Well, Emily is going to hate a hovering Hotch hanging all over her," Rossi noted.

Morgan looked at him in amusement. "Can you say that sentence fast five times?"

"Shut up, Morgan."

"Hey, it start yet?" JJ asked as she came up to the two men. They all knew that Hotch would have preferred to do this call in private, but he at least needed Garcia there for the technical aspect and the fact was this was the room the BAU team was using for the case. Reid and JJ at least tried to pretend they were working, but Morgan and Rossi simply sat themselves down, prepared to enjoy the show. And each member also wanted to be in the room because they were truly concerned about Emily and needed to see and hear from her directly.

"Nope," Derek responded. "This Gibbs is yanking Hotch's chain."

"Trying to dictate things by first being the one to make the call and doing it late," Rossi supplied. "Shows it'll all be on his time table, his terms, not Hotch's."

"Ooooh, I bet that's not going over well with him," JJ whispered.

"Hotch moved passed pissed off about three minutes ago. Another five minutes and he'll probably go nuclear," Morgan noted.

"I don't think we'll get to that point. I think Agent Gibbs feels he's made his point," Rossi said as he heard a tell tale ring.

Hotch let it ring several times as Garcia looked at him expectantly. Two can play this game and he wasn't going to show he had been waiting expectantly for the call, though he had been, ready to answer on the first ring. After five rings, he nodded at Garcia who connected their little Montana police station to NCIS' MTAC.

The first thing Hotch saw was Emily standing between two, much larger men. While Hotch knew she was a tall woman, these two men seemed to loom over her, making her look tiny and delicate. He couldn't see it, but Hotch would also guess that for some reason, Emily wasn't wearing her usual boots that typically added an inch or two to her height. Additionally, the bandage on her forehead and what Hotch could see was a cut on her cheek, added to the fragile appearance of his dark-haired agent.

He knew he wasn't the only one concerned about how Emily looked. He heard Garcia gasp slightly and say under her breath, "Oh, my poor little peach." He also heard Rossi and Morgan shifting their positions behind him, leaning forward to try to get a better look at Prentiss.

Suddenly, the older man who stood at Prentiss' right spoke and drew their attention to him.

"You wanted to speak to me, Agent Hotchner?" Gibbs asked, somehow making the 'Agent Hotchner' sound like an insult.

Hotch frowned and turned dark, obsidian eyes towards this man who had failed to protect his agent. His stare was met by a cool, blue one. Their gazes locked; two immovable forces of nature that drew everyone's attention as they attempted to stare each other down.

"Oh, it is so on," Garcia murmured as she watched the two men.

* * *

><p><strong>AN 2:** Maybe the other members of the BAU team wouldn't hang around while Hotch made the call, but I think there's a chance they would have since they're concerned about Emily too and want to see her for themselves. Besides, I couldn't resist having them there witnessing the interaction between Hotch and Gibbs.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait, but I wanted to finish my other CM story, "Reckoning" first (yeah!) and then I got hit by a virus and tons of work at my job. Right now I am actually posting this story while on the road at a conference in Alaska(!), which, BTW, if you get the chance to go, definitely do, it's beautiful. Anyway, here is the next part which was a little difficult to write since I had so many shifting perspectives. I'm also a little afraid the Hotch/Gibbs showdown might not meet some people's expectations. My apologies for that, but I didn't think it was something that should be long and drawn out because, well, it's Gibbs, and he wouldn't participate in something long and drawn out. Anyway, here is the part. If you could leave a review, that would be great.**

The staring contest between Hotch and Gibbs went on, with everyone else holding their breaths waiting to see who would break first. To DiNozzo's surprise, Gibbs broke first, but then he heard what his boss had to say.

"So, you called this meeting Agent Hotchner. You going to get it started or not? I've got a serial killer to catch and I think you probably do too."

Gibbs may have spoken first, but he also made it sound like Hotch was wasting everyone's time. Score one for Gibbs.

Hotch's brow darkened with annoyance. "The welfare of my agents is very important to me, Agent Gibbs. When one has been injured, especially when working with another agency, I take that very seriously." Hotch's tone implied that Gibbs was careless and reckless with Emily's welfare. Point for Hotch.

The two men went back to staring at each other for a moment and then Hotch addressed the injured agent. "Prentiss, are you okay?"

Even if she wasn't, and Emily was far from okay, she would never admit it. Hotch could see her eyes were a little glassy and she was paler than usual. He watched as she straightened her spine and said, "I'm fine, sir. It was just a minor bump on the head and some cuts."

Hotch frowned when he heard the "sir". While she addressed him that way in the beginning of her tenure with the BAU, she only now used "sir" when she was angry with him. He knew she was still upset about the Matthew Benton case.

"What exactly happened?" he asked, his voice a little harder and colder than he intended. He saw Gibbs frown at him and the other agent with them moved a little closer to Emily in a protective gesture. That only deepened Hotch's frown. Like Emily needed protection from _him_!

"Agent DiNozzo," Emily gestured to the younger man next to her, "And I were interviewing a potential lead in the case, a loan shark. When we were leaving, a dissatisfied customer came after him, firing a gun. When I landed on the floor, I hit my head and I got cut by some flying glass. That's it."

Hotch saw DiNozzo give Emily a sidelong glance and knew she wasn't telling him the entire story. Hotch's eyes narrowed. She was protecting this other agent and by God, if he was derelict in his duties and Emily got hurt because of it…"Agent DiNozzo, do you agree with that accounting of the events?" he rapped out in a sharp voice.

Prentiss' eyes widened and then she frowned hearing his question and the tone of his voice. What? He didn't believe her?

"Yes, Agent Hotchner," Tony began in a firm voice. "I would like to add something else. Emily is being far too modest. She spotted the shooter before I did and if she hadn't knocked me out of the way, I would have been seriously injured or dead. She saved my life, Agent Hotchner." He tilted his chin up defiantly, daring Hotch to say anything against him or Prentiss.

Some emotion flickered across Hotch's face that only Gibbs caught. Had Emily been feeling better, she would have seen it, but she was still feeling the effects of her injuries and Tony was not adept enough to read the FBI agent. Hotch's back was towards his own team and the small window on the video screen didn't provide a large enough view for them to see the miniscule crack in that stony facade.

_Emily was hurt saving another agent?_ Hotch thought, suppressing a shudder that ran through him. How many times was she going to put herself in the line of fire? How many times would she get hurt and there was nothing he could do about it? How many times would he see her, fragile and in pain? And one of these days, would he see her, cold and dead, lying on a slab in the morgue because he wasn't there to protect her? All these thoughts went through his head in a millisecond and it was this moment that Gibbs' sharp eyes caught, but the voice that spoke was cool, professional and proper.

"I am glad that Agent Prentiss was able to save your agent, but my agent should not have been in danger in the first place. Agent Prentiss is at NCIS to provide consultative services, she is _not_ there to act as one of your agents nor should she have been placed in such a potentially dangerous situation."

Gibbs heard Emily suck in her breath and out of the corner of his eye he could see the hurt expression in her profile. He knew how she must have taken Hotchner's words. While the reprimand was for NCIS and Gibbs himself, the seasoned agent knew that from the tone the BAU team leader was using, it could be mistaken for a lack of faith in Emily's ability as an agent.

She felt humiliated. Hotch was all but saying she was best only when she was sitting around an office providing a consultation and needed to be coddled. He made her sound like some wet behind the ears newbie. A sense of indignation rose up in her. _He was always so unfair to her!_

"Really?" Gibbs replied. "I thought all you FBI agents were trained for anything and from what I can see, Agent Prentiss has been. She saved DiNozzo's hide today. That's a sign of a damn good agent who doesn't need to be wrapped in cotton wool." Though, Gibbs suspected that's exactly what Hotchner was feeling right now, that Emily needed to be coddled and protected. He didn't blame the other man, Gibbs was feeling much the same way, but he suspected that was the last thing Emily wanted from either of them.

Emily felt grateful for Gibbs' words and she sent the man a look that said all of that. Her attention was on the NCIS man so she didn't notice the tight fist Hotch suddenly made with his right hand, though Gibbs definitely saw it.

Hotch gritted his teeth. He hadn't meant to make it sound like Prentiss wasn't competent to be out in the field, but obviously Emily and Gibbs had taken it that way. If she wasn't angry at him before, she definitely was now and Gibbs, he just made himself look like the hero defending Emily while he, Hotch, looked like a world class jerk. The FBI agent fought the urge to growl at Gibbs and then was surprised by the intensity of his reaction. For a second, Hotch was thrown by his own jumble of emotions.

Rossi could see the fist Hotch made at Gibbs' words and saw the grateful look Emily had given the NCIS agent. He didn't have to see the younger agent's face to know Hotch was pretty pissed at this moment. Whether Aaron knew it or not, the green-eyed monster was definitely poking around in his heart. _This could be good_, Rossi thought devilishly.

"I was not commenting on Agent Prentiss' performance," Hotch all but growled out. "I am more concerned about NCIS' protocols and the safety of my agent. If NCIS cannot assure the safety of Agent Prentiss, I will be forced to pull her from your case."

Emily looked at him with wide eyes. "Hotch! You can't pull me! I'm fine. I can take care of myself!"

The culmination of all these different emotions Hotch had been feeling and his reaction to seeing Emily once again, small, fragile and hurt collided and made him snap out, "Obviously that's not the case, Prentiss! This is the third time you've been hurt in two years. You exercised questionable judgment in your last case. You should be on vacation as I ordered and not doing a consultation on your own!"

When Hotch finished, you could hear a pin drop. His own team members were staring at him in shock and dismay. Emily looked as if he had physically struck her and the two NCIS agents had twin expressions of anger on their faces. DiNozzo moved closer to her in a clearly protective way. Gibbs glared at the man through the video feed. He felt Emily list slight towards him, her energy rapidly leaving her after absorbing this new blow. Her arm brushed against his and without thinking about it, Gibbs slipped his arm around her waist. The NCIS agent watched as Hotch's eyes flickered towards the movement. Gibbs watched as the other man's face darkened even more.

_Ahhhh, that's what this is about, _Gibbs thought to himself. Aaron Hotchner had feelings for Emily. That's what was driving his actions, not general asshole-ness. Well, maybe there was some asshole-ness involved.

"Agent Hotchner," Gibbs began, and he couldn't help a bit of a smirk from appearing on his face as he decided to have a little fun messing with the uptight agent. Plus he was getting tired of this crap. Hotchner wanted to see and talk to Emily and that's happened. Right now, she needed to rest and not stand here listening to this jerk. "I can guarantee you that no harm will come to Agent Prentiss." He moved his arm up to Emily's shoulders and pulled her in close, ignoring her surprised look as he gave Hotch a wide grin. "I'll personally watch out for her." He made a throat cutting motion to someone off screen and the feed was suddenly cut off as Hotch was opening his mouth to say something.

* * *

><p><strong>AN 2: I know the Hotch fans are probably feeling that I short-changed him in some way, but I think, initially at least, that Hotch will be at a bit of a disadvantage to Gibbs because I think there's always a part of Hotch that will make him be polite and professional a lot longer than Gibbs would. I mean, I can't see Hotch hanging up on a fellow agent in this situation but oh, yeah, Gibbs would and has. So because Gibbs just doesn't care as much Hotch or play by as many rules, Hotch will be a little more restricted.**

**Don't forget that the 2nd Annual Profilers Choice Award for Criminal Minds fiction is now open for nominations. The ballots are found in the discussion forum (when in the list of stories for the CM fan fiction section, look to the top right hand corner of your screen and you'll see a link for "Discussion Forums"), Chit Chat on Authors Corner, 2011 Profilers Choice CM Awards - Nomination Ballot.**

**Thanks again for reading, and please leave some feedback if you can. Merci!**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: ****Don't forget that the 2nd Annual Profilers Choice Award for Criminal Minds fiction is now open for nominations. The ballots are found in the discussion forum (when in the list of stories for the CM fan fiction section, look to the top right hand corner of your screen and you'll see a link for "Discussion Forums"), Chit Chat on Authors Corner, 2011 Profilers Choice CM Awards - Nomination Ballot.**

**Thanks again for reading, and please leave some feedback if you can. Merci!**

Hotch wheeled on Garcia snapping out, "What the Hell just happened?" though he knew exactly what had just transpired.

"They cut the communication, sir," Garcia stammered, frightened by the thunderous look on Hotch's face. She couldn't believe Gibbs had just hung up on Hotch. Who hangs up on Hotch?

"Well, that went well," Rossi stated in a sarcastic voice.

Hotch turned to glare at him, but the older agent merely returned the look with a bored one of his own. The Hotchner glared simply didn't work on Dave Rossi.

It did work on the other members of the team as Hotch swept it around the room. Garcia suddenly became busy with her computer, hunched over in an attempt to make herself look smaller. AJ and Reid were immediately engrossed by their files and Morgan just remembered he needed to speak to the deputy who was their main point of contact and he slinked out of the room.

Seeing the rest of the team were avoiding Hotch's eyes, Rossi sighed and got off the countertop where he had been perched. "Aaron, a word?"

From Hotch's clenched jaw, Dave knew the last thing he wanted to do was to talk to him, but he was offering the Unit Leader a graceful way to extract himself from a complicated situation with the rest of the team. With one sharp nod, Hotch agreed and followed Rossi out of the room to the small breakroom down the hall. The older agent poured a cup of coffee, handed it to Hotch and poured his own cup. He took an appreciative sip.

"I tell you, this may be a small town in Montana, but they've got good tech and really outstanding coffee," Rossi said as he gave Hotch a salute with his cup before taking another sip.

Hotch maintained a stony silence as he gazed into his own cup. Rossi watched him for a moment and then decided to just plunge into things.

"What you said to Emily was really dumb."

Hotch let out a long sigh before looking up. "I _know_," he said, his voice tinged with exasperation.

"So why did you say it? I tell you, Emily now believes that you think she's incompetent and have absolutely no faith in her as an agent."

"That's not what I think," Hotch muttered. He paused, looking back down into his coffee. His voice was low and Rossi had to move a few steps forward to hear him. "She looked so small. Dammit, Dave, she was hurt again and I wasn't there to help. None of us were. What the Hell type of team are we if we're not there for each other when we're needed?"

"She was doing her job, Aaron. We all know it's a possibility that we can be hurt, even killed while on the job. It's a risk we all take. Emily got hurt saving another agent and all she got from you was a reprimand. You didn't mean it to come out that way, I know, but that's how she sees it and how a lot of other people see it too."

"What do I say to her now?" Hotch asked much in the same broken tone he had used when he felt helpless to protect Emily in light of the pressure from the Italian government in the Matthew Benton case. Rossi realized it was not only the danger to Emily that frightened Hotch, it was his own inability to shield her from it. He wondered if the younger man himself realized that.

"She's probably really mad at me," Hotch muttered.

"Yeah, I say that's a pretty good bet," Rossi replied dryly. "You know what you're going to say to her?"

"You're assuming she's going to talk to me," Hotch returned. He sighed loudly as he leaned against a table. "I really stepped in this one."

"Oh yeah. I would suggest next time you see her in person, you wear your Kevlar vest, but make sure it's hanging a little lower than normal."

"We still hadn't cleared the air after Matthew Benton. Now this on top of that…" Hotch shook his head. "I don't even know if she'll take my call."

"Well, I suggest you try and if she doesn't answer, you'd better leave a message. I would start with that." Rossi walked by his old friend, giving the younger man a supportive shoulder squeeze as he passed. "It'll just get worse the longer you put it off."

"It doesn't seem right doing it over the phone," Hotch mused.

Rossi shrugged. "I don't think you have a choice. Just start there. When you do see her, you can apologize again. Trust me, it's going to take a lot of apologizing and get ready to do some groveling."

"You're making it sound like I'm apologizing to my wife," Hotch said, a bemused look on his face.

He saw Rossi about to make a comment, getting as far as opening his mouth, but then he slowly closed it and shook his head, almost in an exasperated manner. "I'm not going to touch that one. Just know that even though she's your subordinate, Emily is owed an apology. Remember, this was the woman who was willing to sacrifice her career to save yours. She's earned a bit of groveling." He nodded his head once and then slipped out of the room, giving Aaron some privacy.

Hotch stared off into space for a few minutes, organizing his thoughts and trying to think of what to say to Emily. How was he going to explain his actions when he wasn't even certain why he reacted the way he did? Of course he didn't think she was incompetent or untrustworthy in the field. If anything, the people he didn't trust were Gibbs and his questionable agents. His brow furrowed as he saw in his mind Emily's pale face and glassy eyes. Dammit! Why wasn't some there watching Emily's back?

_You mean why weren't you there?_ A small voice inside of him asked. _After all, Emily's always had your back. Her resignation in the face of Strauss pressure proves that. But how many times have you protected her? Not in Milwaukee, not in Colorado, and not during the one time she actually asked for help. That's not how you treat the others. No wonder she wants nothing to do with you._

Hotch rubbed his face wearily with his hand. It was true. When one of the others needed help, he gave it willingly and without question, never doubting them in any way. But with Emily, as soon as any issue arose, he questioned her, then he backed off and made everyone else do the same. If Dave hadn't been as stubborn and persistent as he was, Emily would have been on her own, and in her state of mind, and he was completely right that she was too close to the Benton case, she would have wound up in trouble. Dave had her back that time, not him.

_And it just completely pisses you off that someone else rode in to be the hero. Rossi that time, Morgan in Colorado, and now Gibbs is the one tending to her wounds._

Hotch's gut tightened as he remembered Gibbs' smirk and his parting words, _I'll personally watch out for her._

The urge to growl rose up and this time a small sound did escape his throat. Emily was not Gibbs', she was his. _Responsibility_. The larger part of his mind, not the small mocking voice that had been going on for the last few minutes, made sure to add that last word. Prentiss was his responsibility, not Gibbs'. She was a member of his team and it was his job to watch out for her.

Hotch sighed as he remembered his last words to her. It was his job to watch out for her if she didn't take his head off first.

He fished out his cell phone, knowing Rossi was right. The longer he put off the call, the worse it was going to be. He doubted Prentiss would answer, but he could begin his groveling via voicemail and build up from there. Maybe he could send her flowers. The larger part of his mind nixed that idea. That's what you do after a fight with your wife. Fruit? Fruit was always safe.

He dialed her number and listened to it ring and then her voicemail greeting. At the beep, he hesitated for a few seconds, uncertain what to say. Finally he stammered out something, "Prentiss, it's me, Hotch. I would like to apologize for my comments earlier on the video feed. I wasn't implying that I have doubts about your abilities as an agent. I was more concerned that you were not getting the proper support from NCIS. Your performance has never been an issue for me, Prentiss. You're one of the finest agents I've ever worked with. I'm sorry for how my words came across earlier. I just wanted you to know that and know that I am sorry."

The voicemail beeped, letting him know he had run out of time. Hotch hung up and stared at his phone in dissatisfaction, knowing that even to him, his words had still sounded cold and detached.

* * *

><p>Emily was staring at Gibbs in confusion when he made the throat cutting gesture to someone behind her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the video screen go blank, cutting off Aaron Hotchner as he was about to speak. She swung her eyes in disbelief towards the blank screen and then back at a smirking Gibbs.<p>

"What just happened?" she asked, a shocked look on her face.

Gibbs gave her a puzzled look. "We were done. Hotchner just wanted to make sure you were okay and speak to you and he did. We've got to get back to work and so does he."

"But-, but you hung up on Hotch!" she stammered. No one hung up on Aaron Hotchner. She had seen some of the sickest, most dangerous serial killers in the world quake under that man's stare and Gibbs simply hung up on him?

"Had nothing else to say," Gibbs replied. "Look, Emily, if you want to talk to him some more, you're free to call him, but on your own time. We've got a killer to catch."

"Though why you want to talk to him, I don't know," Tony added in a huff. "I would say something crawled up his ass and died, but I think in Hotchner's case, whatever it was decided to build condos."

Emily frowned at DiNozzo though she could see a slight smirk appear on Gibbs face. She turned her frown towards the older man. No matter how mad and upset she was at Hotch, she wasn't going to stand for hearing anyone bad mouth him.

She looked at the screen again and back at Gibbs, still confused by what was going on. Then she realized that Gibbs still had his arm around her and she gently disengaged herself from him, a faint blush putting a little color back in her face.

"You look like you were about to keel over," Gibbs said in response to the measured look she was giving him. He eyed her sharply, taking in the still glassy look in her eyes. "You're not going to upchuck are you? Because if you are, you'd better go to the ladies room now or DiNozzo isn't going to be happy about cleaning it up."

"Boss!" squawked the younger agent in protest.

"No, I'm not going to vomit," she snapped, but even she noticed her voice had a lot less energy and power than it normally had. She really wasn't feeling that well and from the look Gibbs and now DiNozzo were giving her, she must look like she was in pretty bad shape too.

"Maybe you should sit down," Tony ventured hesitantly. "You don't look so good."

"I said, I'm fine," she ground out. She watched as the two men exchanged looks and suppressed the urge to growl. "I can do my job."

Gibbs gave her a long look before he spun on his heel and started to walk out of MTAC, "Never said you couldn't."

Emily blinked after him for a moment and then with DiNozzo followed the older man out. She had to almost trot after the two men to keep up with them, her earlier injuries hampering her usual ease of movement and making it even more obvious that the last place she needed to be was here. None of this went unnoticed by Gibbs who led the way back into the bullpen where Abby, Ducky, Ziva and McGee were gathered.

"Report," Gibbs barked out.

"I might have a lead on the roses, Boss," McGee began. "Virginia has a very active Rosarian society and there are only a handful of people who are growing this particular breed. I've contacted everyone but two people. One person is out of town on vacation and the other I've left messages for, but this last person has been known to provide cuttings or sell plants to people. I'll follow up with this person in the morning."

"David."

"There are no solid suspects behind the drug dealing going on at the various military bases. However, Virginia local PD around military bases have noticed a decrease in drug activity over the last few months. When I spoke to the officer in charge of their coordinated drug task force, he said it is possible that some of the drug trade has moved to the military bases. He is compiling a list of well known drug traffickers who might have the organization to operate on several military bases."

"DiNozzo!"

Tony looked nonplused for a moment. "Uh, well, boss, I've got nothing to report, I've spent the last few hours with you."

"Then go home, Tony," Gibbs said quietly.

"Boss?" DiNozzo was confused.

"You hit your head today too. There's not much else we can do until the morning." Gibbs raised his voice. "So everyone might as well go home and get some rest."

For a few moments, everyone looked stunned. They weren't use to Leroy Jethro Gibbs suggesting they go home early while in the middle of a case. Gibbs noted their silence and the fact that no one had moved. He raised an eyebrow.

"Unless you all want to spend the night here?"

"No boss," a chorus of voices cried out and they began to gather their belongings, hurrying in case Gibbs changed his mind.

"Wait!" Abby cried out. Everyone froze and Gibbs looked inquiringly at the young forensic scientist. She walked over to quickly fading Emily who was now leaning up against the filing cabinet by DiNozzo's desk. "Emily, you really need to stay with someone tonight. Head injuries are no joke. Do you want to come home with me or Ducky?"

Prentiss gave the happy goth a small smile. "Abby, that's really sweet of you and Ducky, but I'll be fine. I've dealt with head injuries before." Afterall, she had received one in Milwaukee and no one had stayed with her then. Nor had there been any offers.

Emily had not known Abby long and that sweet, gentle persona belied the core of steel within the woman. When Abby decided on what was right, she would not budge from that position and she knew that what was right, was not to leave Emily alone tonight. She shook her head. "No, Emily. No way are you going to be staying alone tonight. It's not safe or good for you." Her mouth set into a stubborn line.

Before Prentiss could respond, Gibbs cut into the conversation. "She's not staying alone tonight, she's staying with me."

Everyone turned to Gibbs in shock. He ignored them and instead scooped up Emily's coat from his desk chair. He placed it gently on her shoulders and steered a stunned and silent Prentiss towards the elevator. Had she been feeling better she would have said something like, "Oh really?" but she could only dumbly allow him to usher onto the elevator and eventually out of the building to his car.

After the elevator doors had shut behind the couple, the remaining members of Team Gibbs turned to look at one another.

"Did Gibbs just take Emily back to his place?" McGee asked.

"Yeah," Tony replied in shock. "He never takes anyone involved in a case home unless they're under twelve and there's a murderer after them."

"Well, next to me, Jethro does have the most experience with head injuries," Ducky replied in an affable tone. While having a tendency to ramble on tangential subjects, the medical examiner had sharp, observant eyes, and he had noticed the affect the beautiful FBI agent had on his long-time friend. Whatever it might blossom into, he did not know, but what he had seen so far, it had been positive.

"And she is very pretty," Ziva added with a shrug of her shoulders as she picked up her coat.

"Pretty doesn't affect Gibbs!" Tony snapped.

"That's right, it's not like we're talking about Tony," McGee pointed out.

"Hey!" DiNozzo objected.

"I think Gibbs is doing it because Emily probably doesn't have anyone else to look after her," Abby said quietly before the two boys could devolve into one of their typical squabbles. Her conversation with Emily's friend Billy that morning was much longer and extensive than anyone knew. She had heard a lot about Emily Prentiss from him.

Her comment silenced the group. They all knew little about Emily Prentiss, but they were all familiar with being alone. They could see that perhaps Gibbs, in his inimitable way, had saved Emily from admitting she had no one to turn to at this time by making her stay with him basically an order. He had hustled her out and she could honestly say later on that she had no choice in the matter, and not have to say she had to stay with someone from NCIS because she had no other option of her own.

It was just another one of those tactful things the very untactful Leroy Jethro Gibbs would do that surprised his team, but yet in many ways, did not.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Thank you all for your patience on this story. Work got hectic and I got sidetracked with a few short Criminal Mind stories. That's the problem with a new season, the new episodes start to give you fodder for writing. I want to apologize because I could not remember exactly what Gibbs was building in the season I've set this story in from the NCIS POV. What I selected might be off a year or so, so I apologize ahead of time for that. Also thank you to the readers who nominated my two stories, this one and "Reckoning" for the Criminal Minds profiler fan fic awards. I'm really touched and humbled by the nomination. They inform me that voting has begun so you can cast your vote now. There are a lot of great stories and authors nominated this year.**

Gibbs gently steered Emily towards his car with a nudge every now and then. But when they got to the parking lot, she indicated a way in the opposite direction of his car.

"My bag," she said. "I have a go bag in my car with some things I'll need."

Gibbs nodded and followed her to the visitors' parking lot. She led him towards a non-descript, dark sedan, dark blue, dark interior. It was meant to blend in with the surroundings. It wasn't the car he would have picked for Emily. While not flashy, she would be driving something more expensive, with sleek lines and a powerful engine. But she had chosen something economical, unobtrusive, designed not to make her standout. Gibbs noticed that about this woman. While her clothes were definitely expensive, they too had the touch of practicality and quietness about them. As federal agents, they weren't supposed to stick out, though with that face, unless she wore a veil, it was hard to miss her.

After grabbing her bag from the trunk, Emily made her way around the car to where Gibbs stood waiting for her. He regarded her silently for a moment, noticing how she held the bag with both hands, obviously having a little bit of trouble with it. He thought about taking it from her, but decided against it. He knew Emily would not appreciate that bit of chivalry though it was starting to be more about making sure she could make it to his car without passing out first. Instead, he simply inclined his head in the direction they had come from.

"My car is back this way."

This time, he did wait for her to fall into step with him and he kept pace alongside of her, not taking his usual fast-clip stride, but matching her much slower walk. They made the trip to his car in silence and once there, he did take the bag from her so he could put it in the trunk. He watched her as she slowly got in on the passenger side before he took his place in the driver's seat.

Gibbs' driving was much less aggressive this time. He pulled out of the NCIS parking lot smoothly and at an average pace. The drive to his house was a short one and the trip was punctuated by several concerned looks he hurled Emily's way. The lady herself simply leaned her head against the passenger side window, happy for the cool glass against her face.

Gibbs' house and yard was dark, so Emily couldn't make out too many details, but she saw a small, modest two-story dwelling. A small patch of grass in front, a large tree and a couple of rose bushes made up the landscape. It looked like an ordinary house in the suburbs of Virginia. Gibbs pulled into the driveway along the side of the house. Emily could vaguely make out the outline of another car in the garage at the end of the drive.

He was suddenly beside her door, opening it up and extending a hand to help her out. Emily blinked at the outstretched hand, not even realizing she had been sitting there long enough for Gibbs to get out of the car, retrieve her bag from the trunk and make his way to her side. _Oh boy, this head injury scrambled my brains more than I realized,_ she thought to herself as she put her small hand in Gibbs' much larger one.

Gently, he grasped her hand and helped her out of the car. He disregarded his earlier decision to not play the gentleman because he could tell Emily was fading fast. He was wondering if she wouldn't be better off at the hospital. He would have to monitor her closely.

He escorted her into the house, earning a curious look when he simply opened the door.

"You don't keep it locked?" she asked in surprise. She thought of the security each of the BAU agents had at home. After her shooting, Penelope had been the most paranoid and moved into a high security building. Surely Gibbs had pissed off enough people in his career, or lifetime, that it would be wise to at least keep his door locked.

Gibbs shrugged. "Not a whole lot to steal."

Flicking on the lights, Emily had to agree. The color palette was made completely of browns and tans and there was very little furniture in the few rooms she could see from her position in the foyer. It wasn't spartan, but it wasn't exactly decorated either. It was neat and clean but muted. She could see no pictures on the wall or photographs of any kind. There were also very little evidence of modern technology. No TV, ipod deck, though she thought she saw a small radio. Everything looked at least a decade or more old, but it wasn't as though it was a deliberate nod to a past time. It was as if the house was caught in time, at one particular moment, and as the years passed, it faded a bit more, became a little sadder, a little dimmer. Desolation seemed to hang in the air. To Emily, it seemed like a sad man lived in this sad house.

Before she could get a better look around, Gibbs was ushering her upstairs and into a guest bedroom. It had the same, faded, sad, utilitarian quality to it. But as with the rest of the house, it was immaculate.

"I'm going to be checking in on you every couple of hours," Gibbs informed her as he set her bag next to the bed. "You probably won't get much sleep with the disruptions, but try to get as much as you can. Rest is what you need most now."

"Thank you," Emily said in a weary tone as she sat down on the bed. "This is an awful lot of trouble for you to go through."

He turned to look at her from the doorway and in one of those rare instances that he allowed humor to sparkle in his eyes, Gibbs looked at her and said, "Well, I did promise Hotchner that I would take care of you. Bathroom is across the hall." He nodded at her and closed the door.

The reminder of Hotch had Emily sighing and digging into her coat pocket for her cell phone. When she pulled it out, she frowned at it, realizing it wouldn't turn on. Thinking the battery might be dead, she rummaged through her go bag for her charger and plugged the phone in to recharge. Just this small act nearly exhausted her so she simply left the cell phone on the nightstand and began to undress. With her last bit of energy, she pulled an oversize t-shirt on and rolled into bed before falling asleep almost immediately.

True to his word, Gibbs checked up on her every two hours. Emily had some vague memory of this, but managed to get in some sleep. She woke around five am feeling better, though still not completely well. Slowly, Emily pushed herself up into a sitting position and was relieved her head no longer swam nor was there a persistent pounding in it. Carefully, she got out of bed and made her way over to the bathroom.

A few minutes later, she was walking down the stairs, having pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie. Se noticed that Gibbs seemed to keep his house cold and wonder if there was even central heating in the place. In the just breaking dawn light, she got a better look at the house than she did last night, but knew her initial impressions were right. It was a house sadly caught in time that had seemed to lose it's vibrancy in the passing years. While she had suspected a man like Gibbs lived simply, something she could appreciate, the house seemed devoid of all personality, like it was merely a place where he could sleep, change his clothes and shower. And perhaps it was. Gibbs seemed to personify the term "lone wolf" and a lone wolf didn't need the extras that everyone else felt was necessary in life.

There was one room Emily came across that seemed the most lived in and provided another bit of insight into Gibbs. In his living room, there was no TV or photographs, but there was an entire wall of filled bookshelves and a well used fireplace. The couch was old and nondescript, but comfortable and from the indentations and sag in the cushions, she could see it was a place Gibbs often sat. A green throw was neatly folded at one end and a novel with a book mark three fifths in was on the coffee table. She wondered if most nights Gibbs fell asleep on this same couch as he read into the night. Emily always appreciated a reader. While she had no trouble with modern devices, she too, like Spencer Reid, preferred the feel of a real book.

She moved over to the bookshelves to look at the titles. Most of them were biographies or history novels, many dealing with the military. Some were incredibly scholarly works which one would not associate with the blunt, practical, Marine that Gibbs was. All of the books had spines that were cracked, pages thumbed and many of them looked as if they had been read more than once. Like the rest of his life, Emily suspected Gibbs was just as practical and efficient in his reading. No buying of new books until he finished reading every single one he had at home first. She wished she was as disciplined as she guiltily thought of the small stack of unread books by her bed at home.

A noise from the kitchen drew her attention and she shuffled over there. To her surprise, there was no one there, though the coffee maker was automatically brewing the first pot of the day. She smiled when she saw it. While the rest of the house lacked modern conveniences, she noticed that one thing that Gibbs did have was a coffee maker. She heard the noise again and realized it was coming from behind a door. Quietly, she opened it and saw a set of stairs leading down to the cellar.

The coffeemaker let out a soft ding signaling that it had finished. Instead of greeting her host empty handed, Emily found two mugs and filled them with the just brewed drink, adding sugar and milk to hers while leaving his coal black. She then descended the stairs into what was a neat, fully outfitted workshop.

Aside from the living room, this was the only other place in the house that gave some sort of insight into Gibbs the man. Glancing around, she could see that there were a lack of power tools, but given what she had seen upstairs, it was no surprise. She had guessed that Gibbs must have had some sort of hobby such as this. The calluses and nicks to his hands indicated he worked often with them.

The cellar was a large one and the work table set up in the center of it seemed small for that space. She could make out a faint outline on the floor that indicated that something larger had been there at one time. She saw Gibbs sitting at the table working on a piece of wood.

"That coffee for me?" he asked without looking up as he continued to work.

"Well, since it came from your coffeemaker, it would have been rude of me not to bring you a cup," Emily replied as she reached the bottom of the stairs and walked over to him. She handed him the cup of black coffee.

Gibbs looked up and in one glance could see that Emily was looking better than she had last night. He could tell she still wasn't 100% but at least it looked like he didn't have to worry about her throwing up at any second. She was still a little pale and the cuts from yesterday were now vividly apparent on her pale skin, but he knew she could work today without being coddled.

"Thank you again for letting me stay," she said.

"No trouble," Gibbs shrugged as he took a drink from his mug. He set it down next to him and went back to what he had been working on.

Obviously he wasn't going to speak anymore on the subject. Emily suspected that once something was over with Gibbs, it was over and time to move on. Dwelling on it would be a waste of time and energy. Emily needed to be monitored last night. Gibbs had done it. It was now over. Time to move on. She curiously looked over his shoulder to see what he was working on.

It was a wooden figure of a man with movable arms and legs. Gibbs had carved it and fastened the joints with screws. Gibbs was rubbing a cloth over it to clean it up. Emily glanced at the work table and saw several other wooden toys that had been completed or were nearly finished.

"Who are all the toys for?" she asked curiously.

"Every year, I make a dozen or so of these for the Children's Hospital. For their long-term patients."

Emily felt her face soften when she heard his explanation. Leroy Jethro Gibbs was a man of many contradictions. Driven, hard, relentless, yet kind, considerate and compassionate. He was your typical man's man who lived simply, worked with hands and liked his coffee just shy of paint thinner. But underneath that, he was a book lover whose intellect went beyond the persona he presented. He worked at a masculine craft such as woodworking, yet he made whimsical and delicate toys for children, doing more with this act than those who simply took a minute to write a check. He had taken in a virtual stranger and cared for her last night, making sure she didn't slip into a coma and even coming in at some point to put an extra blanket over her. He was definitely something else.

Emily tilted her head to the side as she watched Gibbs finish what he was doing and began to clean up his work space.

"Something you want to ask me, Prentiss?" he asked, still not looking at her and continuing to gather his tools to be put away.

"Nope," she responded in a gentle voice. "Just amazed no woman has snatched you up yet, Gibbs."

"They have. Just threw me back. Three times."

Emily's brow wrinkled. "Three times? Really?" She wouldn't have thought Gibbs was the kind to marry and divorce three times. That put him on par with Rossi. As much as she loved Dave, she didn't think the two men were alike at all. If she was being honest, Gibbs reminded her more of Hotch, the type of man that once he found a woman he loved, he would hold onto her forever. And the way he cared for her last night, almost like a father taking care of a sick child, the gifts for the Children's Hospital, it was obvious that Gibbs was born to be a parent.

Gibbs looked up and saw the confusion on Emily's face. As a profiler, he suspected what she had him pegged as was not matching up with a man who would have married and divorced three times. Since his NCIS family found out about Shannon and Kelly, he had been speaking more about them, but he was still hesitant to say anything to Emily. He didn't know her that well, though he was drawn to her. However, he could see the wheels turning in her head and knew she had come across something that was puzzling her. If he was right about his opinion about her, she would dig around if only to satisfy her own curiosity. He decided to save her the time and effort.

"It was actually four times," Gibbs found himself say. "Divorced only three times."

That was enough information and he saw the comprehension on Emily's face. To her credit, she didn't pry any further, but simply nodded, though he found himself curious as to what she would have said next. Instead, she simply took a sip of her coffee.

"You never married?" Gibbs asked. Of course he knew she hadn't. When he heard she was going to be the consultant on this case, he had her complete Bureau file in a matter of minutes.

Emily let out a snort of laughter. "I don't exactly have the best track record in attracting husband material." She shook her head. "And with this BAU job, it doesn't leave a lot of free time to meet and date someone."

Gibbs let out a grunt that may have been one of agreement. "Don't worry. You'll find someone." He suspected there was at least one man very interested in the beautiful FBI agent. He had seen a hint of that himself yesterday during the video conference. Though he wouldn't have picked someone as uptight as Hotchner for Emily, Gibbs was fair enough to admit he didn't know much about the man. What he did know was that the other agent was exhibiting far more concern and protectiveness for Emily than a typical supervisor did for a subordinate.

"Well, we'll see, but I think I'm more likely to own a cat in the future," was her wry reply.

Gibbs grinned as he continued to put away his tools and Emily sipped her coffee. The silence between them wasn't awkward, but in fact rather comforting. She hadn't gotten much sleep the last few nights and despite the coffee, Emily found herself begin to doze lightly until Gibbs spoke again.

"Yeah, jobs like ours make it hard to get to know someone before they figure out they don't want to put up with the hours you keep," he said picking up their conversation again.

"Mmmhhhmmm," she said, still in a bit of a dozing state and not really paying him much attention.

"Must have been even harder for you before the FBI when you were working in Intelligence." Emily froze and her eyes shot open to find Gibbs standing before her, his piercing blue eyes pinning her in place. "Just exactly who were you with before the Bureau, Emily and why did they have to fake your file?"


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N:** **Short part this time. Hope you enjoy. And thank you again for those who nominated this story and "Reckoning" for the Profilers' Choice Awards. The final ballot is up so go and vote. I know the authors all worked hard on their stories, so it's great that they've been recognized so keep on recognizing 'em! :-) http: forum. fanfiction. net /topic/ 74868/ 51253709/1/ (remove the extra spaces).**

She had always wondered what she would say when asked a direct question about her previous job. If asked point blank, she thought she would have answered as truthfully as she could keeping in mind the classified nature of her past work. However, she thought it would be Hotch asking her that direct question. Never would she have guessed it would be a man she met 48 hours ago.

In fact, she had been surprised that Hotch _didn't_ ask about the discrepancy in her personnel file. She knew he must have noticed it. However, when Hotch was suspicious of her, he was looking for a mole in his unit, not an actual spy. He had no reason to doubt her FBI credentials and history, and she was certain it had ever occurred to him that she might have come from another agency. A small one month discrepancy is easily explainable. More than anyone, Hotch knew the mistakes that could be made in paperwork. When Emily saw it in her file, she had asked it be fixed, but the powers that be assured her that it leant a bit of authenticity to her record. Clerical mistakes were made all the time. It was a reasonable explanation and one many people would come to themselves.

Unless you're Leroy Jethro Gibbs. The man was wary and suspicious of everyone and everything. Emily should have known he would pick through her file with a fine tooth comb and ask about the error. This would be a test to see if those idiots were right and everyone would accept a clerical mistake as an explanation.

"Fake my file?" she asked with a furrow browed. "What are you talking about?"

She was good. Gibbs had to admit that. No change in breathing, no shifting of her eyes, just the right amount of confusion in her face. Anyone else would have bought the performance, but he didn't. His gut told him there was something there.

"There are some dates that don't match up in your file. The time that you were in Chicago? There's an overlap with St. Louis." He tilted his head to the side and peered intently at her.

"It's a clerical mistake," Emily shrugged. "One I've asked them to fix, but it's not a priority, so it just stays there. That's all there is to it."

That intense gaze never wavered and she didn't back down. Gibbs had to give her points for that, but he didn't like the lie she was feeding him. He demanded total honesty from those who was closest to and he wanted Emily Prentiss to be one of those people. He took a step closer and his respect for her went up a notch when she didn't change her behavior at all. She simply stared back at him.

He could have let the entire thing go. It _may_ have been a clerical mistake, like she was saying, but his gut was telling him differently. There was much about Emily Prentiss that didn't add up. Her skills, especially the language ones which she seemed to have while a teenager, were far too good to be stuck in the FBI, especially at a desk job in the Midwest like her file had indicated. Add to it the profiling skills she had, no way would she been out of the field work for any length of time unless injured in some way. She would have been recruited by an intelligence agency while in college.

If he went with that line of reasoning, then her file made _sense_. It was faked. The desk job, the woeful utilization of her talents. Emily's professional background information had been made up. But this was the Bureau, and faking an official personnel record in the FBI was not an easy task and he doubt any foreign government could do it, so Gibbs felt confident she wasn't a hostile operative. The fact that she was placed into the BAU, not in any department that had to deal with RICO or domestic terrorism eliminated the possibility of a domestic hostile. Which left only one other explanation, it was another agency that did it, one of theirs. That smacked of the CIA to Gibbs.

As a rule, he hated spooks, but the fact that Emily left that agency after what seemed to be a short time, scored points in her favor. But as Gibbs knew, any intelligence mission had elements that could come back to haunt you. Jenny Shepherd was still fresh in his mind. He did not want to see Emily wind up like his former lover. He was worried that somehow it would get on a collision course with Emily's life at some point, and when it did, it would be ugly. He did not want to imagine ugly touching this lovely woman.

Ducky once said that they were both still chauvinists at heart, needing to make sure a woman is protected. Gibbs freely admitted that. He expected his female agents to be agents and he never coddled them. But he couldn't deny that he felt an extra need to protect them. Too many women had died on him and he didn't want to see that happen ever again. He didn't want any more Kate's or Jenny's in his life.

"With all the vetting the Bureau does, for someone to create a history like that, it has to be high level," Gibbs said in a soft voice. "Which tells me that you worked on some pretty classified things. I understand that you can't talk about it. Lots of stuff I've done that I can't talk about either. But I need to know if anything can possibly spill over into my investigation from your past?" Gibbs wasn't too worried something from her past would impede his investigation. He just needed to know she wouldn't wind up some day on the wrong end of a past case and there was something he could have done to prevent it. Gibbs would like to make sure that didn't happen to Emily Prentiss.

She saw understanding in his eyes and perhaps a touch of sympathy, but training told her not to tell this man anything. She had only known him for two days. However, her instinct was telling her he could be trusted. Emily decided on a compromise.

She purposely chewed on her bottom lip, the first crack Gibbs saw in the calm façade she had been putting on. He looked sharply at her mouth and then back into her eyes. It was done on purpose. A message to him that she was about to say something that was more truthful than she had been a moment before. He waited patiently.

"I see no reason why any of my past cases," she paused slightly, "should impact this investigation in any way."

Gibbs tilted his head to the side slightly to regard her closely. "Any reason for those past cases to bite you on the ass at any time?"

There was a slight shifting of expression in her eyes, so minute he almost missed it. If he had blinked, he would have. There was something that concerned her.

"We all have things in our past we hope never come back to haunt us, but we're just never certain." Emily looked at him intently. "I'm sure you have things like that in your past, right Agent Gibbs."

It wasn't a question but a statement. He thought back to a hillside in Mexico where he calmly and coolly plotted and carried out the execution of the man responsible for Shannon and Kelly's deaths. Regrets? Hell no, he didn't regret that one bit. But did he think it would come back to bite him in the ass? Yeah, there was always that possibility.

He peered intently into Emily's eyes. He saw shadows there. She had experienced some horrible things in life, and not just what she witnessed in her current job. She's had personal experience with evil. It had changed her as it had changed him. He wondered how many of those shadows were connected to her intelligence work.

"I think we've all got something like that in our history," he said softly. "Just if you ever want to talk about it, I'm willing to lend an ear."

Her eyes narrowed slightly at him and she immediately rapped out, "Why?"

Gibbs' gaze never flickered, but he was a little surprised by this new side of Emily Prentiss he had never seen before. So far, he had only seen the warm, open, compassionate woman. He now saw a cool, calculating, cautious woman who suspected everyone and everything. It was a pretty damn intriguing combination and it simply whetted his curiosity even more.

He shrugged. "Sometimes it's easier to talk to someone not too close."

She stared at him with those brown eyes that had suddenly become laser beams. He could almost see the suspicion coloring those brown orbs. He didn't blame her. Out of the blue some man she met two days ago was asking about her classified work? Yeah, he would be suspicious too.

"I have no idea what you seem to be getting at, Agent Gibbs," Emily said in that cool, professional voice that he had heard before, when she was talking to Agent Hotchner. Gibbs figured that was probably one of Emily's pissed off tones.

"I'm just offering you an ear if you want it," he replied calmly.

He saw her eyes narrow ever so slightly. "I think its best that we stick to the investigation," came her even-toned reply. "I'm going to go get dressed. I know how you like to get an early start." She turned on her heel and went up the stairs with Gibbs gazing after her.

Emily Prentiss had just become even more interesting.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Thank you very much for the kind reviews. I have to say, I'm a little surprised by the support for the Gibbs/Emily pairing. I want to point out something. Gibbs might be intrigued by Emily, but I have not said if he's _attracted_ to her. So keep that in mind. And I tried to make it clear, the reason Hotch didn't think the discrepancy in Emily's file was suspicious is because he had no reason to doubt that she was an FBI agent that entire time. He was looking for an FBI agent that Strauss had placed in his unit, not looking at her history as being suspicious, not like Gibbs who is just suspicious of everything. So no, I don't think Hotch messed up by missing that little detail. And as I said in the previous part, Hotch knows that paperwork errors happen all the time. And thank you again for those who nominated this story and "Reckoning" for the Profilers' Choice Awards. The final ballot is up so you can vote if you wish. http:/ forum. fanfiction. net/topic /74868/ 51253709/1/ (just eliminate the spaces to make the link work).**

Aaron Hotchner looked at his cell phone and noticed the lack of messages. He scrolled through the history and saw that he had no missed calls. Of course he didn't, he would have heard his phone ring. A depressed feeling swept over him as he realized that his relationship with Emily Prentiss may be more damaged than he had feared. She was outright ignoring his calls now, not even a clipped text message was forthcoming.

He sighed and slipped his phone back into his trouser pocket before rubbing his face. A cup of steaming hot coffee suddenly appeared before him.

"I take it from the way you looked at your cell phone, Emily hasn't called you back?" Rossi asked as he handed Hotch the mug.

"I can't say I blame her," Hotch replied quietly. "Every time I go over what I said in that video conference, I want to kick my own ass."

Rossi let out a loud guffaw. "Just give her time. Prentiss will come around. If she knows how genuinely sorry you are, she'll forgive you."

"Forgive, but not forget," Hotch muttered.

Rossi didn't bother to correct him. While he didn't expect Emily to hold a grudge, he did know she was likely to retreat into herself around Hotch. He had noticed since his time back at the BAU the rapport between the two agents and how it seemed to get stronger and stronger each day. He saw how concerned she was after Hotch had been caught in that explosion in New York and how she stuck by him as he recovered his hearing. Rossi watched as a man who defined stoicism nearly crumbled listening to Cyrus Benjamin beat Emily and how he couldn't trust himself to be in the rescue party. Rossi knew that his old friend was too shaken after hearing Emily's beating to trust himself to be in that situation where her life depended upon his actions. He didn't know if Hotch realized it or not, but his feelings for their beautiful brunette colleague had gone far beyond friendship.

Though if Hotch wanted to ever pursue something beyond friendship, he needed to make sure Prentiss would actually speak to him beyond what the job required. Rossi watched as his friend fished his cell phone out of his pocket again and gaze morosely at it. It still remained infuriatingly silent. A slight frown appeared on the older profiler's face. Emily might be mad, but it wasn't like her _not_ to respond and acknowledge the message in some way, if only in a text. Hotch _was_ her boss.

A little later that morning, Rossi found a moment to slip away from the others and dial Emily's number. He let out a frustrated sigh when his call went straight to voicemail.

"Emily, its Dave. Give me a call when you get this message. We're a little worried about you kiddo." He decided not to specifically mention Hotch. No need to upset her further if her lack of communication revolved around the team leader. However, Rossi was getting the uncomfortable feeling that something more was going on.

Something, that did not bode well for his friend back in DC.

* * *

><p>Gibbs heard Emily let out a small, frustrated sigh before she shoved her cell phone into her purse.<p>

"Something wrong?" he asked.

Her head snapped towards him and out of the corner of his eye, he could see her giving him that piercing, measuring look she had been gracing him with since he started questioning her background. He knew he had set off warning bells in her head and she was drawing away from him, the easy relationship they had almost instantly established gone now, marked by a cool professionalism that clearly told him to keep his distance. Gibbs didn't do regrets much but he did wonder if he had made a tactical mistake in confronting Emily so early about the file. Now, she was suspicious and wary of him and if he had hoped to get her to confide in him, he doubted that was the way to go.

"Cell phone is working," she replied in a clipped tone. "I noticed it didn't seem to be working last night, but I thought it was just out of power. Charging it the entire night doesn't seem to have done anything for it."

Gibbs smirked at her. In his ongoing battle with technology, any indication of where the accursed stuff failed was a point in support for his preference for things. "Told you I hate those things. I only carry one around myself because of the job."

"I don't know how long the darn thing has been inactive," Emily sighed. She was trying not to think of all the messages on her voicemail. She only hoped that no one from her team had called her. It was unlikely they did considering they saw her yesterday via video conference. They would only call her if they needed some help with their case and they hadn't bothered to ask her opinion so far. It was unlikely they'd start now. She winced internally remembering how well that went. Strauss wasn't particularly interested in what she was doing with NCIS and after dealing with Gibbs yesterday, Emily knew the old witch wasn't eager to speak to her.

The only person she figured who might have left her a message was Aaron Hotchner and it was probably to bawl her out for the abruptly ended video conference, which was completely Gibbs' fault though she was certain Hotch would find some way to blame her. He had been doing that a lot lately as well as contacting her practically every day. It was like he couldn't trust her to do this consult alone.

He was always doing that with her; second guessing her, questioning her motives, her integrity, her rationality. No one was ever under the Hotchner microscope like she was and continued to be. He constantly asked her if she was "all right" with an assignment, something he never did with another agent, not even when Jordan Todd was temporarily assigned to them.

"Well, we can probably dig up a temporary phone for you if McGee or Abby aren't able to fix it," Gibbs replied.

Emily let out a small grunt and simply turned to stare out the window. Gibbs shot a glance at her and kept quiet. The rest of the trip was made in silence that continued as Gibbs parked and they made their way to the NCIS offices.

"Report!" Gibbs barked out to his assembled agents who were already at their desks.

Tony, Ziva and McGee exchanged glances. They had become sensitive to some of the nuances of Gibbs' behavior. While it was sometimes hard to distinguish pissed off Gibbs from regular Gibbs, there were occasions that they knew when their boss was irritated and he was irritated this morning. They looked over at Emily who, while looking better than she did last night, had an unreadable expression on her face. In fact, there was no expression on her face or in her eyes. Everything about her seemed coolly professional, so different from the warm personality they had become used to in the past two days. The dead give away was when they saw Gibbs' eyes slide over towards the FBI agent.

Something happened last night.

Because they were investigators, each of the NCIS agents possessed a natural sense of curiosity. Where their boss was concerned, that curiosity was ratcheted up tenfold. Add to it the lovely FBI agent Gibbs had seemed to take an immediate shine too, it was like offering a cool glass of water to a man stuck in Death Valley for a week. Why were Gibbs and Prentiss suddenly on the outs?

"Oh hey, Boss," DiNozzo greeted with a knowing look to his colleagues. "Emily. Feeling better today?"

Tony's bright and inquisitive voice didn't go unnoticed by the couple he was attempting to engage. Gibbs threw him a cold look while Prentiss simply nodded. DiNozzo raised his eyebrows at Ziva and McGee.

"You have any thing on this case for me, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked in a frigid tone as he took a step towards his senior agent, getting between Tony and Emily who was putting her coat into the extra cubicle space by McGee instead of on Gibbs' chair where it had been for the past two days. He didn't think he would, but Gibbs felt a slight sting by this extra bit of distance Emily was putting between them.

"McGee was just on his way to go speak to our local rose grower and see if he sold any of his cuttings for our very special murder rose," Tony answered, the curiosity still apparent in his eyes.

"And the detective in charge of the Virginia drug task force has just emailed me the list of drug dealers whose activities have fallen off in recent months. There are three names on the list, plus known associates of the three," Ziva reported.

"McGee," Gibbs snapped out. "Go talk to that rose expert. Get a name and see if there are any common names with Ziva's list. Then I want you to meet up with DiNozzo and David. You guys will be checking out the last two names on the list. Prentiss and I will take the first name." He saw Emily's face tightened marginally when she heard she would be paired with him. Gibbs was no profiler nor was he a human lie detector, but he was an observant man who noticed almost every miniscule change in a person. Emily was uncomfortable and he knew it.

However, she only nodded her head in acknowledgment. "We have time to go see if there's a spare phone for you to use," Gibbs noted.

Emily shook her head. "I should have time after we talk to this guy. You have your phone so it's not as if we'll be out of contact. It's not urgent that I get a replacement right now." She nodded her thanks to McGee who offered to take her phone to Abby and handed the device over to him.

Gibbs shrugged. "Suit yourself." He turned on his heel and started to walk towards the elevator, expecting Emily to follow him, which she did after picking up her coat and waving absently at the others. After the elevator doors had closed behind the couple, Tony spun around with bright eyes to look at his colleagues.

"Someone or someones woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Or maybe in the wrong bed!" he said gleefully. "What do you think happened? Did Prentiss make a move on Gibbs and he turned her down or did it happen the other way around? Or did nothing happen and they were both expecting it too?"

"I do not think it is good to speculate what may or may not have happened between Gibbs and Emily," Ziva snapped as she started to get into her jacket.

"There was a distinct chill in the air between them," McGree replied. "But I can't imagine Gibbs putting the moves on Emily during a case and she was really in no condition last night for physical activities."

"Hmm, that's true. She did look like she was about to puke at any second." Tony's eyebrows shot up. "Maybe that's it! Maybe she threw up in his workshop!"

"Tony! We need to go interview drug dealers!" Ziva reminded him. "What happened between them is their business not ours." She dangled the car keys in front of him. "And I'm driving." She strolled off without another word, causing DiNozzo to hastily grab his coat as he called out,

"I'm the senior agent! I should be driving!"


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Thank you very much for the kind reviews. I apologize for how long it's taking me to post parts, but work has been incredibly busy this month and it's taking all of my time (free time, what's that?). So I appreciate your patience. I will say this story is going into its third and last phase to give you an idea of how much is left. Once more, thank you again for those who nominated this story and "Reckoning" for the Profilers' Choice Awards. The final ballot is up so you can vote if you wish. forum. fanfiction. net/topic /74868/ 51253709/1/ (just eliminate the spaces to make the link work). Voting ends November 30th. There are a lot of good stories nominated, maybe some you haven't read before so it might also give you an opportunity to discover a new story.**

Ziva had handed to Gibbs as he was walking out a copy of the information the Virginia detective had forwarded to her on the drug dealer her boss and Emily were about to visit. He in turn handed the file over to Emily and she started to read to him all that had been compiled on Joe Jacobs, the man they were going to see now.

"Suspected of running a drug ring that targeted college and high school students before he moved on to more sophisticated operations such as bars and clubs that provide an easy front for drug trafficking. Virginia PD have not been able to find sufficient evidence on him. They think the joint effort they started last year forced him to clean up his legitimate operations and move the drug trade somewhere else."

"Military bases," Gibbs said. "He picked on soldiers who needed some cash, preyed on their vulnerabilities to be his drug couriers."

"But that seems incredibly risky for these soldiers to be selling on base."

"I doubt they were selling on base, or if they were, that wasn't the main focus of the business. There's been some increase in drug use on base, but not enough to make it look like it might be worth Jacobs' time. But I bet if we cross-reference where these soldiers typically went while on leave, we'll notice an uptick in drug activity."

"He could have greatly expanded his reach beyond Virginia and the surrounding area," Emily replied.

"And they probably weren't selling all the time, if at all," Gibbs continued. "They most likely were mules of some sort. You get a soldier in uniform, they're sometimes not looked at as closely as everyone else."

"So what do you think initiated the killing spree? Why suddenly start tying up loose ends?"

"Military police started their own task force and was clamping down. It was only a matter of time before they got to these guys Jacobs was using. Jacobs started sweating and decided to clean house."

"Creating a fake serial killer," Emily finished. She shot Gibbs a glance. "We don't know its Jacobs. It could be one of the others on the list or someone else we don't know about."

"True, but I suspect the story we've laid out probably hits close to what's really going on." He looked over at Emily. "For an FBI Profiler, you're not bad as an investigator."

"Well, I have been trained, Gibbs," she said as she rolled her eyes.

"Mmm, I'm just wondering who did the training."

Her head snapped around to look at him, but Gibbs' eyes were already back on the road. He did feel her intense gaze on his profile. Without turning to look at her, he continued to talk.

"I know you can't say much and that every bit of training you've ever had, Hell, even just common sense, is telling you not to trust me because you just met me, but I do want to be help if you need it."

"Just for the sake of argument and to satisfy my curiosity about why this is even coming up, what makes you think there is even a problem and why are you even interested? It has only been two days since you've met _me_. Why this protective urge for a stranger?"

He turned to meet her eyes and while wariness was still present, there was also genuine confusion. Gibbs smothered a sigh. How to explain actions that left him baffled as well? Half the time Gibbs operated on instinct. When asked to explain his decision making process, the majority of the time his answer would be, "his gut". That was simply how he was wired and it had yet to fail him.

If he were to give that answer now to Emily Prentiss, Gibbs suspected she would either snort in derision at him or be even more suspicious of his motives. So that meant, he would actually have to try to explain himself. In words.

Gibbs sighed and gripped the steering wheel a little harder. Great, he had to talk.

"My ex-partner. She was killed because of an old case we had. I've seen first hand how old cases, old mistakes, can come back and bite you in the ass. For some agency to fake your FBI file, your clearance had to be high and they had to have felt they owed you to do that. So what your worked on was top secret and that's always the kind of stuff that has the greatest possibility of having it come back to haunt you.

"I don't need a lot of time to sort out people. I know pretty much from the beginning if I think they'll be worth my time and effort. I think you are, Emily Prentiss. But when I make that decision, it also means I can get over-protective, especially if my gut is telling me to be." He paused to steal a glance over at Emily who was looking very unconvinced. Gibbs sighed and did what he hated doing most, sharing.

"I've had a lot of women who I've worked with die or nearly die on me, not just my ex-partner. One of my agents, Kate Todd was killed by a terrorist coming after me. Ziva almost died in Somalia. I can't tell you how many times someone has come after Abby." Gibbs swallowed hard, the next part the most difficult for him to say. "My first wife, Shannon, and our daughter, Kelly. They died when I was serving in the Gulf War. Killed because Shannon was going to testify against some scumbag drug dealer." He pulled over to the side of the road so he could twist in his seat until he could look directly at Emily.

"I couldn't protect them. I couldn't protect Kate or Jenny or Ziva." A pained expression crossed his face, startling Emily. "I couldn't protect Shannon and Kelly. I won't let that happen again. I won't have another woman's blood on my hands."

She realized it was the classic case of the white knight syndrome, but with Gibbs, like he did with everything, he went all out and took it to the extreme. Emily understood. After suffering the devastating loss of his wife and daughter and then to have an ex-partner and one of his agents, both female, killed. You couple that with what Emily sensed was simple old-fashioned male chauvinistic belief of a man protecting a woman and you had Gibbs acting to the extreme when he thought a female he felt close to was being threatened.

But the thing is they weren't close. They had just met a few days ago. Granted, she had felt an ease with him, an almost instant rapport, something she hadn't felt with anyone else before, not even with her own BAU team who instead had greeted her with trepidation. And Emily did not make fast friends. She had too many walls, too many defenses as she suspected Gibbs did too. So why did he feel she was worthy of his efforts to protect?

"I go by my gut most of the time," he continued. "I know we haven't known each other long, but something about you, it told my gut that you were one of the good ones. The more time I spent with you, the more I saw bits of people I had lost in you. Shannon, Kelly, Jenny, Kate. Kate especially." He let out an exasperated breath. "I'm not much for talking and explaining my feelings so it's probably coming out a little creepy to you, but like I said, I don't need a lot of time to sort out how I feel about people. It's not just that you remind me of these other women I've lost. I know you're a different person, but I think I know who you are. To me, Emily Prentiss, you feel like family."

It was an inelegant speech made all the more rough by the look on Gibbs' face that spoke of his own confusion, embarrassment and irritation over how he was acting. But to Emily, it was possibly the sweetest speech anyone had ever made to her. For all her life she had been the outsider, having to earn her spot with everyone, friends, her own family and the BAU and Hotch's team. Here now was a man who was simply saying he accepted her because he knew she was "good people" and he thought she felt like family to him. That was all she had ever wanted in life, that acceptance.

Maybe because Gibbs lived by instinct so much, it was easier for him to feel that way about her than someone else who would get tripped up by the rational, logical side of his mind. Whatever it was, it was making Emily's trepidation about his questions disappear. She too was going to go with her gut where Gibbs was concerned and it was telling her to trust this man.

"I've never really had anyone say that to me before," she murmured.

Gibbs threw her a confused frown. "That they think you're a good person?" Disbelief dripped from his words.

She smiled. "Not that soon." She saw him looking inquiringly at her and Emily elaborated. "I didn't have an ideal childhood. My parents were distant and we moved around a lot so it was hard making friends, being accepted. It's sort of felt like an uphill battle for me."

Gibbs' frown deepened. "Your team at the Bureau, you guys must be close."

"It took a while to get there." Emily paused and looked down at her hands where she had begun to pick at her nails. Gibbs suddenly reached out to cover her hands and stop her nervous habit. She looked up at him in surprise and only saw warmth and sympathy in those blue eyes that could look so cold and deadly. "After what happened recently with Matthew, I sometimes wonder if I had been accepted as much as I thought." She gave him a sad smile and a shrug of her shoulders.

Gibbs swore at that moment that if he ever met Agent Aaron Hotchner, he was going to take the stick up the other man's ass out and beat him with it for putting these doubts in Emily's head. He was no longer surprised by the fierce protectiveness he was feeling towards this woman. He had spent the night down in his workshop thinking about her and sorting out why he was feeling this way towards Emily and simply came to the conclusion, that there was something about her that made her feel like family. He couldn't explain what it was, why he felt something so quickly, but it was there. She was one of his people now and she deserved the full force of his protection. And if that meant protecting her from a boss he considered an asshole, so be it.

He gave her hands a gentle squeeze and said in a soft voice. "I don't ever want you to think that you aren't accepted by me, Emily. Like I said, I feel like you're family and I don't put conditions on family except one: when you're ready, you can come to me if you have a problem and I'll have your back, 100%. Never doubt that."


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait between parts, but work has been insane and this is the first weekend I've truly had in a while just to sit back and do…well, stuff that wasn't work related. You'll likely see various story parts and new stories coming from me this weekend and one reason for that is because this story is getting close to an end and I've got a bunch of short stories percolating and ready to go too. I'm going to be realistic and shoot for completion before the end of the year, but really hope it'll be done sooner. Thank you for hanging in there and if you have a chance to leave a review, I would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks!**

Joe Jacobs offices were located in an industrial section of Manassas. He had no neighbors, only abandoned office buildings. Gibbs and Emily looked around the deserted area with suspicious eyes.

"Cozy," Emily said in a dry tone.

Gibbs grunted, his eyes taking in every detail, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. His gut was going crazy, not liking this situation. They were too isolated, too alone. NCIS knew where they were, but it would be far too late for help to reach them if they ran into trouble. While he had complete confidence in his abilities, there was Emily to consider. He hadn't seen her under fire, though the incident with DiNozzo yesterday showed she was quick. However she still wasn't fully recovered and still a little sluggish in her movements. No, he didn't want to be here any longer than necessary.

His glance fell on Emily. She too was taking in their surroundings and from the set of her shoulders, he could tell she was uncomfortable with them as well. Whatever happened next, he was going to make sure she would be okay.

The door to Jacobs' offices was slightly ajar and they could hear voices raised in an argument coming from a back room.

"It's sloppy work, McKnight!" a nasally voice spat out. "And you know I don't go for sloppy work!"

"I did what was asked and what was necessary," they could hear a man in a flat monotone say. "The results were what you wanted."

"It's how you got there that pisses me off," snapped the first man.

"You pay me for results. That's what I give you."

Gibbs and Emily listened for a few more moments, but the conversation seemed to have ended. Silence came from the other room and finally Gibbs knocked on the door.

"Who's there?" the first voice barked out.

Gibbs pushed open the door and held out his badge in front of him. "Gibbs, NCIS."

In one glance, Emily and Gibbs could see that Monotone was gone, probably through the door that was behind the desk at which Nasal Voice sat. The office was dingy, dusty and the only thing that appeared alive in the room was the man who sat behind the desk.

"NCIS, huh?" Grunted Nasal Voice. "What do the Navy Cops want with me?"

"Mr. Joe Jacbos?" Emily asked though she recognized the man's picture from the file she and Gibbs had gone over in the car. "We'd like to ask you a few questions regarding a current investigation we're conducting."

"What type of investigation?" Jacobs asked with a shrewd look at the duo. He ran his eyes appreciatively up Emily's lithe form.

Gibbs casually stepped in front of Emily to draw Jacobs' attention back to him, and warn him to keep his eyes and attitude respectful. "We're investigating some recent murders of military officers."

"Murders?" Jacobs' eyebrow went up. "Don't know what I could have to do with any murders."

"You own the Black Cat Club in Alexandria, right? Lot of military personnel go to that club," Gibbs began.

"And that automatically qualifies me to be questioned in a murder investigation?" Jacobs asked in amusement.

"Three of the victims frequented your club," Gibbs shot back. "Plus there's also some question about the type of business you run."

Jacobs waved his hand dismissively. "All unfounded accusations from a police force who can't seem to find the real perpetrators. Sounds kinda like you, Agent Gibbs. You have something a little more substantial linking me to your murders than the fact that some of the victims went to my club?"

As Gibbs continued his back and forth with Jacobs, Emily wandered around the office a little bit, moving towards the door in the back of the room where she suspected the other man had gone through. As she was about to turn on her heel to make her way back to Gibbs, something white on the floor caught her attention. She paused and stared at it for a moment, recognizing what it was. She glanced over at the two men who were completely focused on each other, trading increasingly sharp barbs. Neither of them were paying attention to her, though she suspected on some level Gibbs was aware of what she was doing.

Quickly, she stooped down and picked up the white object, feeling the softness of it against her finger tips before shoving it into her coat pocket. She walked back over to Gibbs and touched his arm. He didn't acknowledge her, but wound up his questioning.

"I'll let you know if I think of anything that might help," Jacobs said with exaggerated politeness. Gibbs gave him one hard stare before turning around and following Emily out of the office. As they walked towards their car, he said to her in a low tone,

"What did you find?"

She pulled the white object out of her pocket. It was a single, white rose petal. Her eyes met Gibbs' and he gave her a small smile.

"Didn't look like a white rose type of office, did it?" Emily asked him.

"Nope," was Gibbs' one word reply. He rounded the car and moved over to the driver's side as Emily went towards the passenger side. "Soon as we get back, we need to get McGee to dig deeper into Jacobs. If there's anything to find, Elf Lord should be able to find it."

"Elf Lord?" Emily asked startled.

"Computer game thingy stuff he plays," Gibbs explained as he slipped into the driver's seat. Emily got in on the other side. She chuckled lightly at Gibbs' explanation and closed the door firmly after she got in.

As soon as her door shut, they heard a voice from the backseat.

"I think the Elf Lord will have to wait," a monotone voice said. A large man whose features looked like they had been carved in granite rose from where he had been lying in the back. In his hand he held a gun that was aimed at the back of Emily's head. "I think the two of you will need to stay with us just a little longer."

"You really want to do this? Messing with federal agents?" Gibbs asked with a hint of disdain in his voice as he watched the man in the rearview mirror. His mind was moving rapidly. The gun was aimed too close to Emily's head and it didn't waver in the slightest. NCIS knew where they were, but by the time they got worried and came looking for them, it would be too late.

Emily's mind was also moving at warp speed. She resisted the urge to turn around and look at the man in the backseat, but the lack of emotion, the unchanging tone in his voice concerned her greatly. Without a doubt, he was the man who was doing the actual killing. She had profiled him as someone who maybe started off killing to further a plan, but she had suspected that he started to enjoy killing until it became the most important thing to him. Hearing the coldness of his voice now and what she recalled of his conversation earlier with Jacobs, she wondered if he felt anything at all. If he didn't, there was no reasoning with him. He felt no fear, no compassion, no consideration. He wouldn't care about the increased intensity in the hunt for him if he harmed two federal agents. He wouldn't care that leniency might be shown if he turned himself in. The man likely simply didn't care. And that made him far more dangerous to them.

"Don't matter to me who you are," Monotone continued. "You're all just hunks of meat to me." Then without warning, his other hand came up and he jabbed a taser into Gibbs' back. The other man let out a strangled cry as his body jerked violently before he slumped unconscious in his seat.

Emily had let out a cry and started to move in her seat, but Monotone pressed the muzzle of his gun hard against the back of her neck. She stilled and watch helplessly as Gibbs finally passed out.

Gibbs incapacitated, Monotone turned to look at Emily. "Now, for you."

* * *

><p>Hotch allowed a small, grim grin to cross his mouth as he packed up their files. The last ten hours had been a whirlwind of activity. Reid's geographic profile started a chain of events that led to their Unsub and his subsequent arrest. Hotch had feared a messy take down, but it had gone smoothly, with a minimum of bloodshed. The suspect was only wounded and would be fit to stand trial for the over twenty murders he has committed.<p>

He would be much happier though if Emily would call him back or even acknowledge his messages in some way. Hotch frowned as he looked down at his cell phone. It was unlike her to ignore him, no matter how mad she was. He was about to dial her number when Rossi and Morgan walked into the conference room they had been using as their war room since they arrived in Montana.

"Hey," Morgan greeted. "That snowstorm is turning into a full on blizzard. We can't take off tonight. JJ is making sure we can have our rooms for another night, maybe more if we get stuck here."

Hotch sighed in exasperation and irritation. "Well, at least we can do some of our paperwork while we're stuck here." He fiddled with his cell phone, something Rossi did not miss.

"Has Emily called you back?" the older profiler asked.

"No," Hotch said shortly. He fiddled with his phone for a moment. "Have any of you?"

Rossi and Morgan exchanged glances.

"Oh come on, I know you've both called her today. Maybe even JJ, Reid and Garcia have too. Anyone get a response?"

Rossi sighed and shook his head. "Not even a text. It's not like Emily and I'm worried about her."

"I am too," Hotch replied as he rubbed the face of cell phone with his thumb. "She's mad at me, but she wouldn't ignore all of you." He pressed her number and held the phone up to his ear. The gnawing sensation he had been feeling in his stomach for the last few hours intensified and he recognized it as fear.

The line rang four times before he heard a feminine, "Hello?" and realized instantly that the woman at the other end wasn't Emily Prentiss.

"Who the Hell are you?" Hotch growled.

* * *

><p>"Gibbs and Emily are missing!" Abby shrieked when McGee told her the news. "McGee! What are you doing here? You should be looking for them! Send out a BOLO! Go hunt down this Jacobs! Find them!"<p>

"Abby, we are trying to find them," McGee said soothingly. "We need you to try to get a lock on their cell phones."

"Well, I can try Gibbs, but I have Emily's right here." She gestured at the table where Emily's cell phone sat. "She asked me to take a look at it. The battery had just come loose, so it's working now." Suddenly the phone began to ring, causing Abby to jump and look at McGee with wide eyes. "What do we do?"

"Uh, answer it?" McGee looked at the name that flashed on the screen of Emily's phone. "Hotch," he read. "I think that's Emily's supervisor. I think you should answer it."

"Why me?" Abby squeaked.

"Uh, because you're a girl and he's less likely to bite your head off?" McGee offered.

Abby grimaced and gingerly picked up the phone. "Hello?" she asked hesitantly.

"Who the Hell are you?" the voice at the other end barked at her.

"Uh, Abby."

"Why do you have Emily Prentiss' phone? Where is she? What's happened? Where the Hell is Gibbs?" the questions came out in a rapid-fire pace.

"Uhm," Abby quaked. "Uhm…Gibbs can't come to the phone either."

"What the Hell is going on there?" Hotch was fairly shouting.

Abby hastily handed the phone over to McGee who had heard Hotch's questions. "This is Agent McGee," he introduced himself. "There's been an incident."

"McGee? What type of incident?" Hotch's cold voice was as sharp as a whip's lash.

"It seems uh, that Agents Gibbs and Prentiss have been kidnapped."

There was silence from the other end and McGee exchanged glances with Abby until a voice that was so low and lethal that it turned McGee's blood to ice said, "Get DiNozzo into MTAC. Video conference in five minutes."

* * *

><p><strong>AN 2: Thank you for those who nominated my two stories, "A Rose By Any Other Name" and "Reckoning" for the Profilers' Choice Awards. The final ballot is up so you can vote if you wish. forum. fanfiction. net/topic /74868/ 51253709/1/ (just eliminate the spaces to make the link work). Voting ends November 30th. There are a lot of good stories nominated, maybe some you haven't read before so it might also give you an opportunity to discover a new story.**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: We're getting close to the end of this story, which is the first part of a three-story arc, though there might be a "filler" type thing between this story and the next. Anyway, thank you for hanging in there and if you have a chance to leave a review, I would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks!**

Anthony DiNozzo had a reputation as being a jokester, a womanizer, a gossip, and a lazy man. It was partly deserved, but it didn't tell the full story about him. He was also loyal, intelligent, determined and fiercely protective of those he cared about. Leroy Jethro Gibbs saw all of these things in the young Baltimore police officer he recruited for NCIS and while Tony hid these finer qualities often behind his joking, playboy persona, when it mattered, the other side of him would emerge.

Aaron Hotchner knew nothing about the two Tony's. He had only spoken to DiNozzo once before and it wasn't long enough of a conversation for the FBI agent to get a feel for the NCIS man. Right now, what Hotch was seeing was a serious agent who did not flinch in the harsh gaze that had been known to make some of the most degenerate serial killers quake in fear.

"What happened, agent?" Hotch's cold face filled the screen as he stared hard at Tony.

"Agents Gibbs and Prentiss were interviewing a suspect in our case. They missed their check-in time and we haven't been able to reach them. Agent David and I went out to the address they were going to but found the offices there abandoned and no sign of Gibbs or Prentiss. We have every available agent and law enforcement agency looking for them and the suspect they were interviewing."

"Who's running it for the Bureau?"

"Agent Fornell," Tony said. "He knows Agent Gibbs very well and volunteered to lead the FBI's search."

"Who was this suspect they were interviewing?" Hotch snapped out.

"Joe Jacobs. He's a drug dealer who we think has been expanding his business using military personnel."

"And Jacobs has disappeared as well?"

"Yes. We're tracking him, looking through his business holdings, contacts, known associates."

"Leads?"

Tony licked his lips. "We found Agent Gibbs' vehicle on the outskirts of DC. Inside of it where the Agents' coats, weapons and…shoes."

"Shoes?" Hotch queried, his eyes wide in surprised.

With this question, Tony could see the two other men who had been standing behind Hotchner, an older man with a beard and an athletic looking African American man, move closer to the screen, frowns on their faces.

"Yes, their shoes," Tony replied. "We believe they're still alive and are being held prisoner. Jacbos likely took away their shoes because they might help them escape in some way." He smiled faintly. "Gibbs would probably find a way to use his shoes as a deadly weapon."

"And without shoes, it might make it harder for them to run depending on their environment," Rossi finished, remembering a poor woman in barefeet trapped in a room where the floor was littered with broken glass. He peered intently at the screen at Tony. "What was the profile Emily gave on your serial killer?"

"She didn't think we had a serial killer, or at least, he didn't start off as one." Tony recited the profile Emily had briefed them on just yesterday morning. As he spoke, he could see the BAU men grow grimmer and more worried.

"We don't have much time," Morgan muttered to Hotch, but Tony also heard him.

Hotch nodded, his face grave. "Either Prentiss and Gibbs found something that would implicate Jacobs, or the compulsion to kill was too great and they were taken because of that. Maybe even a combination of both." Hotch rubbed his eyes wearily. "Send us all the information you have, maybe we can find something on our end. We have someone who can work out a geographical profile. It might narrow down potential places they could have been taken."

"Okay," Tony replied, not sure what a geographic profile was and how it would be useful. They needed to find potential hidey holes Jacobs or whoever might be his hit man might have and Tony had a pretty good idea of how to do that. "You guys aren't coming back?"

There was no criticism in his tone, it was simply a question, but Tony could see Hotchner tense up. The FBI man's answer was clipped and short.

"There's a blizzard. We're grounded until it stops, but we'll do whatever we can remotely." He peered intently into the screen and Tony could almost feel the burn of that gaze on his face.

"But know this, Agent DiNozzo, if anything happens to Emily Prentiss, there will be Hell to pay and I'll start with you if I can't get to Gibbs."

* * *

><p>After a few more tense exchanges, mainly about transmitting files to the BAU team, Tony signed off from the video call. He shook himself slightly, trying to release some of the tension caused by the call. He could understand where Hotchner was coming from. If any one of his teammates had gone to work with an FBI team and wound up hurt and kidnapped, he'd be pretty pissed off. But Hotchner seemed to forget that one of their own was also missing. But even if Gibbs wasn't kidnapped as well, they would've put all of their efforts into finding Emily.<p>

DiNozzo ran down the steps from the upper level and hurried over to the bullpen.

"Report!" he barked out.

"Running all known properties and assets that Jacobs has," McGee began.

"Stop that search," Tony ordered.

McGee and Ziva blinked at him. "But Tony," the young man began, "Running a search of Jacobs' properties is the best way of finding where Gibbs and Emily were taken."

"No, don't run Jacobs," Tony repeated firmly. "McGee, what did you find out from our flower expert? Who did he sell those rare white roses to?"

"Not many people. Just three names in the last five years. The rose is really delicate so not too many people attempt to grow it."

"Any of those three names spark anything?"

McGee blinked. "Well, I haven't really run them yet. I got the call about Gibbs and Emily being missing just when the list was handed to me."

"Run it now!" Tony snapped.

"Tony, what are you doing?" Ziva asked.

Tony moved towards the plasma screen and stared at the picture of Joe Jacobs. "Jacobs doesn't fit the profile Emily gave," Tony told the others as McGee's fingers danced over his keyboard. "He's not physically big enough to handle someone like Finch. Emily's profile said that this guy was intelligent, knows forensic countermeasures and he was between 30 and 50. Jacobs is too young. His background says more punk than intelligent serial killer. If we're going to find them, we have to find the killer."

"He's 29, Tony," Ziva countered. "Its close enough and the profile is only an outline, especially since Emily didn't have a lot of information to go on when she developed it."

"But he doesn't like to get his hands dirty," Tony murmured. "He's avoided being arrested so far because he's had other people doing the work for him. He's the type who would hire someone to do his grunt work. Do his killing."

"How can you be sure?"

"My gut."

"Tony! Got something!" McGee shouted excitedly. He sent some information to the plasma screen and another man's picture appeared. "Bruce McKnight. Assorted assaults on his rap sheet. He has two properties, a small house in Alexandria and a small building in Falls Church."

"What about the other two names?" Tony asked making sure they checked out every possibility.

"Eloise Merriman, a seventy year old retired school teacher in Baltimore and Henry Willis from California. His was a mail order. It's got to be McKnight."

"Which address is it? House or the building in Falls Church?" Ziva asked.

Tony hesitated. They needed to check both, but he didn't want to split up the team. However, he wasn't going to leave things up to local LEOs to handle. The situation was too delicate. "Ziva, you and McGee take the house. I'll take Falls Church."

"Tony, I do not think it is a good idea for you to go alone," Ziva protested. McGee looked unconvinced as well.

"We have to hit both addresses and right now, we only have three agents, so one of us is going to have to do this alone. I'll be fine."

"Then perhaps I should be the one who goes solo," Ziva began.

"As the senior agent, I'm in charge and I'm sending you and McGee to the house. That's an order Probationary Agent David," Tony said in a low tone that allowed for no more discussion.

Both Ziva and McGee looked as if they were about to protest the move, but Tony did hold seniority. Finally Ziva nodded her head sharply and smacked McGee on the arm to get him to follow her. The young man looked back at Tony and said,

"Tony, be careful."

As the other two agents headed for the garage, Tony took one last look at the plasma and the picture of McKnight. "I always am."

* * *

><p>The BAU team looked at the amount of information in the electronic files NCIS had sent to them.<p>

"It will take at least a couple of hours just to wade through this material," Rossi muttered.

"More than a few hours," Hotch said grimly. "It'll take us at least a day to go through it. It'll take Reid a few hours."

"I can't believe we're sitting here while Prentiss is being held by some sadistic SOB!" Morgan shouted as he paced the room.

"We can't get out of here because of the blizzard," JJ said in an irritated voice, a worried frown on her face as she scrolled through one of the NCIS files.

"There's got to be something we can do. Maybe drive out of this blizzard to where the weather is better?" Garcia asked.

"The blizzard covers four counties," Deputy Wilson said as he came into the conference room with two reams of paper. He put paper into the printer by Garcia and the other ream next to it. He looked up at Hotch. "You won't be able to drive out of it to another airport. But I can tell you this won't last longer than 24 hours."

"We've got a team member in trouble," Rossi informed the man.

"Yeah, I know, but you folks won't be much good to her dead if you try to travel in this storm," Wilson said kindly. "I think you've got to trust those folks in DC to do right by your gal."

"It was those folks that got Prentiss into this predicament," Hotch snapped out, concern over Emily fraying at his usual control.

"And I understand that they have one of their own in trouble too," Wilson said easily. Over the last few days, the BAU agents had come to appreciate the easy-going man's placid and calming nature. Even in the face of the horrific murders taking place in his jurisdiction, he remained a sea of tranquility, bringing comfort to a grieving and stunned community and making the federal agents feel at home. Though he gave the appearance of an unsophisticated small town law officer, Deputy Wilson was intelligent, compassionate and observant. He had watched Hotch be control almost the entire time he was here, but he had noticed that the FBI man seemed to be rattled whenever they got news of the agent that had not accompanied them. A woman, a beautiful woman judging by the picture Ms. Garcia had shown him. Right now, Wilson could see Agent Hotchner was more on edge than ever before and he knew that someone who always had such a tight hold on their emotions, when they lost it, they really lose control. "They won't mess things up," he said soothingly, trying to avoid any potential meltdowns.

Hotch wasn't convinced. Internally, he was berating himself for ever ordering Prentiss to take leave. If he hadn't, she would have been with them now in Montana where he knew she would be safe because he would be looking after her, not some unknown NCIS agent who not only got her injured yesterday, but kidnapped today. The first thing Hotch had done with the files from NCIS was read Emily's profile on the UNSUB and what he saw was not comforting. He knew time was running out for Emily and he was 2,000 miles away unable to do a thing for her.

* * *

><p>Gibbs would never get tired of looking into her beautiful face, that warm smile, the silky hair that fell in soft waves. He knew ever freckle that was sprinkled across her milky skin. His head hurt, but the gentle touch of her hand seemed to make the pain go away.<p>

"Shannon," he whispered.

"You need to go, Jethro," she said softly. "It's time for you to go back."

"I don't want to," he replied in a broken voice. "I want to stay here with you."

"You can't. You need to go back. People need you."

"You needed me and I wasn't there," his voice cracked with the intense pain he felt.

"That wasn't your fault. You need to forgive yourself and let it go. Let me go," Shannon pleaded softly.

"I can't."

"Jethro, it's time for you to wake up." Shannon's voice was growing fainter and she started to fade away. "There are other people who need you now. People who are your family."

"No! No, don't go, Shannon! Don't leave me!" Gibbs struggled to get up, reaching out for her.

"Shannon!"

"Easy," another voice said quietly. Gibbs felt gentle hands gently pushing him back down, his head resting on something soft. "Just take it easy."

The voice was feminine but it wasn't Shannon. He recognized it though. Emily. Prentiss. Slowly, Gibbs tried to open his eyes. He stared up into her anxious face, her large dark eyes clouded with worried.

"Just relax," she said soothingly. "Take it easy and don't move too quickly. McKnight gave you an extra long zap with that taser." Her hand smoothed some of his hair back. "You'll have to let the effects wear off."

Gibbs closed his eyes and nodded, trying to ride out the lingering effects of the taser. It took him a few moments, but he realized that he was lying on something hard, a cold concrete floor, but his head was on something soft and warm. Emily had cradled his head on her lap. He had to admit, her lap was pretty comfortable. As he lay there, Emily continued to gently run her hand over his head in a soothing motion.

"'What happened?" he murmured without opening his eyes, mentally cataloguing the various aches and pains in his body.

"After you were tasered? McKnight forced me to drag you to the trunk of his car and put you in there. By the way, you are not light. Then he forced me into the trunk with you. We drove for about a half hour. This building is out in the middle of nowhere, no neighbors. He's converted part of it into a greenhouse. He's locked us into some sort of storage room. Heavy door, solid lock. There's absolutely nothing in the room. He's taken our coats and shoes. Belts. I've examined the room, the only way out is through that door and we've got nothing to use to open it."

"Did he touch you?" Gibbs asked as he opened his eyes. He saw a nasty bruise on one of her cheeks. He reached up to gently trace it.

Emily gave him a crooked smile and captured his hand. She squeezed it gently before putting it back on his stomach and patting it. "Nothing I couldn't handle." Gibbs stared at her and she could see that when he got the chance, he was going to pummel McKnight not because he tasered him, but because McKnight had hit her. She almost sighed and rolled her eyes at the man's old-fashioned sense of chivalry, but refrained.

"Why didn't McKnight just kill us?" Gibbs murmured instead, knowing Emily probably saw his determination to kick the ass of the SOB who locked them in here.

"He likes the killing. He has a taste for it now. His last two victims showed signs of torture, the last one more extensive trauma. He wants fresh victims to play with."

"Us."

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><p><strong>AN 2: Thank you for those who nominated my two stories, "A Rose By Any Other Name" and "Reckoning" for the Profilers' Choice Awards. The final ballot is up so you can vote if you wish. forum. fanfiction. net/topic /74868/ 51253709/1/ (just eliminate the spaces to make the link work). Voting ends tomorrow, November 30th. There are a lot of good stories nominated, maybe some you haven't read before so it might also give you an opportunity to discover a new story.**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Thank you to everyone for voting this story as the Best Criminal Minds Crossover in the Criminal Minds Profiler's Choice Awards. I'm touched and honored that folks have enjoyed this story so much. It's been a blast to write and like I said earlier, it's at least a three story arc (there might be some one-shots along the way and an idea for a fourth story is in a bit of an embryonic stage). This first story is almost over so thank you for hanging in and providing feedback, etc. I hope you enjoy this part!**

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><p>"McKnight is the dominant personality," Emily informed Gibbs as she continued to gently stroke his hair, calming and soothing him. He found he quite enjoyed the sensation and allowed his eyes to close as he willed the lingering effects of the taser to go away. "Jacobs is frightened of him."<p>

"He brave enough to help us get out of here so there aren't killing federal agent charges against him?" Gibbs murmured.

"Doubt it. He's terrified of McKnight. I think we're just going to have to get out of here on our own."

"Then we'd best try to find a way out of here before he starts on us," Gibbs grunted as he lifted himself up from Emily's lap. His muscles shook and felt like jelly and he wobbled so badly that Emily had to catch him. She gently helped him sit down, propped against a wall.

"You need to take it easy!" she chided him. "McKnight held that taser on you for a lot longer than he's supposed to. Who knows what it's done to your nervous system and it's obvious you don't have full control back of your muscles!"

"We can't just be sitting ducks," Gibbs snapped back. "We don't know when McKnight will come back. We have to get out of here first."

"Well, we're not going to do that if you fall over and crack your skull open," Emily shot back as she settled down next to him. "And like I said earlier, you're pretty heavy so don't expect me to keep catching you." She gave him a slight smile.

There was something about Emily's smile that Gibbs couldn't resist and he found himself reluctantly smiling back at her despite their circumstances.

Gibbs closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall, taking slow breaths.

"I called you Shannon, didn't I?" Gibbs asked quietly after a few silent minutes had passed by.

"Yes," Emily's voice was measured, even.

Gibbs paused, the memory of Shannon telling him to let go of her so fresh and painful in his mind. He couldn't let her go, not now, maybe never. No, Gibbs was certain he would never be able to do that.

"How long has it been?" Emily's soft voice reached his ear.

"Eighteen years," Gibbs bit out.

"And the pain is still as sharp as ever." It was a statement, not a question as Emily turned her head to look at him.

He simply stared straight ahead, the subject of Shannon and Kelly one he never talked about with anyone, not even those who knew them. So he surprised himself when he allowed the conversation to go on.

"Yes."

Silence fell between them and then he heard himself say,

"People think I should move on."

"Those types of people are usually full of shit."

That got his attention and he turned to stare at her. Emily gave him a faint smile.

"Well, it's well-intentioned shit," she acknowledged. She let out a sigh. "The way you say her name, she was The One, wasn't she." Again, not a question and Emily didn't even bother to look at him for confirmation as her attention shifted to the door. She shook her head. "Getting over The One, I think that takes a life time. If you try to force it, you just make mistakes you regret later."

Gibbs thought back to his three failed marriages, all attempts to capture a semblance of what he had with Shannon, and all were doomed from the moment he said, "I do."

"No, you may not ever get over it. You learn to cope. You learn to live. And maybe at some point, you learn to love again, but it'll never be the same. You'll find a measure of peace and happiness. But it can't be on a timetable. It'll happen when it happens."

Gibbs simply stared at her. Emily was the first person who hadn't told him to move on, expected him to move on. It wasn't as though she gave him permission to continue grieving. Gibbs was never looking for permission or validation. What she was doing was offering understanding, simple, unadorned, genuine compassionate understanding. And for the first time since Shannon, he felt as though someone finally, actually got him.

Without realizing what he was doing, Gibbs reached out a hand and placed it over one of hers which was resting on her bent knee. "Thank you," he said softly.

She turned to look at him and smiled softly, once again patting his hand gently with her free one. "There's nothing to thank me for." She cocked her head and looked at him and a worried frown wrinkled her brow. "How are you feeling now?"

He still felt weak, but Gibbs thought he was in more control of his body. Gingerly, he tested his limbs and then with Emily hovering anxiously by his side, maneuvered himself up into a standing position. He leaned heavily against the wall.

"I think I'm okay," he said as he took a few steps. Gibbs walked over to the door and then slowly got to his knees so he could examine the lock. The room they were in was an old storage room and the only way in and out of it was an equally old, but unfortunately solid door. It also had a very old-fashioned lock that the more Gibbs examined, the more he thought he could get it open, if he had the right tools. He let out a growl of frustration as he looked around the completely empty room.

"What?" Emily asked.

"This lock," Gibbs sighed. "I think I can force it open from our side, but I don't have anything to work with. There's nothing in here!"

"What do you need?"

"A long, thin piece of metal and then some sort of string at least. The metal I can use to get the lock open, but I'll still need something to open the latch handle on the other side." There was a small slot in the door that something could be shoved through and where he could just see the edge of the large handle on the other side. "If I can get something hooked onto the other side of the handle, it'll open. But there's nothing here that we can use!" he finished in disgust.

Emily thought for a moment. She had seen Gibbs carrying a knife in his belt, both of which McKnight made sure to take. Their shoes were gone so they didn't even have the laces on Gibbs' shoes. Where would they get a thin piece of metal and something they can use to pull the handle up from their side? Then it hit Emily.

"Wait, McKnight didn't take everything," she said.

Gibbs looked up at her hopefully thinking maybe she had some tool stashed away in her sock. What she did next rendered Leroy Jethro Gibbs completely speechless.

He watched as Emily reached back behind her and fiddle with something before she hunched her shoulders forward. One hand went up one sleeve of her turtleneck to grasp something under it and pull it down to her wrist where she slipped her hand out of the loop that appeared. She did the same on the other side and then reached up under her shirt and yanked down. A lacy, black bra appeared.

Gibbs gaped at her.

Emily ignored him and began to pick at the edge of one of the bra's cups. Gibbs could only continue to watch her in stunned silence until she smiled and then began to pull something out of the bra: a long, piece of thin metal. She held it up triumphantly and said,

"Underwire."

* * *

><p><strong>AN 2: Yes, it's Emily's MacGyver Moment.**


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: Truly, a good bra is hard to find, so sympathize with Emily for giving up one of her good bras for the cause. :-) **

* * *

><p>Leroy Jethro Gibbs had never really given women's lingerie much thought. His usual experience with a bra was with it being tossed aside as more interesting and pressing matters were dealt with. After botching up laundry early in their relationship, Shannon had banned him from washing her delicates ever again. Come to think of it, what he had ruined were her bras. Her favorite bras. She said something along the lines of how hard it was for women to find that perfect bra that was comfortable, offered support, showed off "the girls", and was pretty. After that, she never trusted him with the delicates ever again. Neither had his other three wives. He also wasn't the type of man who bought lingerie as a gift. He wasn't DiNozzo for crying out loud.<p>

So when Emily Prentiss deftly removed her bra while still wearing her turtleneck and then proceeded to pull a wire out from lacey garment, he could only stare at her.

"Well?" she asked impatiently. "Would this work?" She tested the wire. It was firm and strong. "Can you get the door open with this?"

Gibbs' attention snapped back to the matter at hand and he mentally slapped the back of his head. He needed to stay focused and not be distracted. He took the wire from Emily and tested it. It was a lot more brittle than he thought it would be. Seriously, women wore these things? He turned back to the lock and examined it closely. He carefully inserted it in and wiggled it. It was a little larger than ideal, but it might work.

Emily came forward and leaned slightly on him to look over his shoulder at the lock. Her unfettered breasts grazed the top of his shoulder, her soft hair brushed against his cheek and he could smell her perfume. He felt a stirring even though this was Emily, a woman he didn't think of in that way. But still, he was a red-blooded male and she was incredibly beautiful and her practically naked breasts were almost on top of his head. He wasn't a saint. He turned his head to give her a pointed stare.

She took a few steps back, letting out an annoyed puff of air. He gave her a smirk and then involuntarily, his eyes dropped down a little. It was actually quite cold in the storage room and the chilliness was having a certain affect on Emily. Abruptly, he turned his head around back to the lock, face set in a scowl and muttering under his breath, "I am not DiNozzo!"

Emily shifted back and forth on her sock-clad feet, shivering in the cold room. She crossed her arms over her chest, trying to keep what little body heat she had with her. She always did feel the cold a little more than most people and now without her coat in an unheated room, she was definitely feeling it. Though Gibbs had warned her off with a glare a few minutes before, she couldn't help but inch forward again, if only to try to capture some of his body heat.

Gibbs could sense her shuffling closer, but say anything realizing she was simply cold and likely looking for any type of warmth. Instead, he forced himself to focus on the lock. It took him a few minutes, but he realized that to open the door, he would have to somehow lift the handle on the other side as he pushed the lock mechanism with the wire. He peered at the small opening on the door that was almost a yard above the handle. He glanced around and his eyes alighted on the bra.

Picking it up, he saw Emily arch an eyebrow in question and explained. "I've got to get the handle lifted at the same time I trip the lock or the door won't open."

She nodded, understanding what he was going to do and stepped forward to work the bra lever as he used the wire to push the lock. After a few minutes, he managed to hook one strap of the bra on the handle. He gave it to Emily as he dropped back down to his knees to force the locking mechanism up.

"This will be the strangest way I've ever gotten out of a lock room," Gibbs muttered.

"Never under-estimate the power of a good bra," Emily joked. She looked sadly at the pretty gray bra with the ivory lace and perky satin bow in the middle. "It was one of my favorites."

"When we get out of here, I'll buy you a new one," Gibbs said off-handedly as he jiggled the wire.

Emily laughed evilly. "Oh Agent Gibbs, you have yourself a deal only because I want you to feel the shock of finding out how much a good bra can cost."

Gibbs frowned in concentration. "It's a bra. Just a couple of scraps of fabric. How much can it cost?"

Emily laughed again and Gibbs had to wonder if he probably shouldn't have promised her a new bra. Just how much did those things cost? $20? $30? He pushed the thought out of his mind for now as he felt the lock twist the way he wanted. "Now," he ordered Emily and she pulled back on the bra, wincing a little as it stretched beyond repair.

The handle slowly came up and they heard an audible click as the lock finally released itself and the door began to swing inward. Gibbs got his fingers around the opening and eased it opened, eyes scanning the immediate vicinity for any danger.

With Emily close behind him, they moved cautiously forward. The room was much warmer and they could see they were in a greenhouse of some sort. Both kept their eyes open for any potential weapons. They came upon a pair of hedge clippers and a pair of hand shears. Gibbs grabbed the clippers. Emily rolled her eyes at this. Typical he would go for the bigger weapon even though he still seemed to be shaken up from the Taser. She shook her head at the stubbornness of the alpha male and picked up the shears. They could hear voices coming from an area ahead of them.

"You moron! You grabbed federal agents!"

"The woman found a rose petal. She figured it out."

"So what? It was a stupid white rose petal! It wasn't enough to pin anything on us! But no! Now you had to go and grab them."

"They'll be interesting." That was McKnight and his voice had taken on a chilling quality, made all the more frightening by the lack of emotion to it. Jacobs had caught on and his voice became calmer, more conciliatory.

"Look, we have them now, so you can do what you want with them. Just don't involve me." By this point, Emily and Gibbs could see the two men and saw Jacobs backing away.

"But you're already involved, Joe." McKnight moved threateningly towards the much smaller man. "Very involved."

Even from where they were, they could see Jacobs swallow hard and the beads of sweat on his forehead. "Yea-, yeah, of course! We're partners. B-, but I know that you like doing this other part."

"Are you afraid of me, Joe?" oozed the big man who started to roll up his sleeves.

"No! Of course not! We're buddies!" babbled the little man.

"Oh, we're not buddies at all." McKnight lunged at Jacobs who let out a squeak and dodged the large, grasping hands. Jacobs began running in one direction with McKnight hot on his heels.

Emily and Gibbs exchanged looks and sighed. They couldn't let McKnight kill the little weasel. He motioned for her to take one direction while he took another. Quietly and swiftly they moved to surround the other two men.

McKnight had caught Jacobs by a large pile of bagged fertilizer. The little man had tripped over them and the killer had pounced. One of his large hands was wrapped around Jacob's throat when Gibbs yelled out, "Federal agents! Freeze!" The words were barely out of his mouth before he swung the clippers and caught McKnight on the side of his head.

The big man fell off of Jacobs, but he was only slightly stunned. As Gibbs moved in for another blow, McKnight's fist shot out and caught the NCIS agent in the gut. Gibbs staggered back and landed next to Jacobs. Normally, he would have been able to dodge the blow or at least take it, but he was still weakened by the Taser. He tried to get to his feet, but McKnight was already walking towards him, the clippers now in his hands.

"Should have hit me harder, NCIS," McKnight growled out.

"You mean like this?"

McKnight whipped around in surprise only to be smacked across the face by the shovel Emily had swung. The big man's head snapped around and then he toppled over, unconscious at Emily's feet. She looked down at Gibbs who looked up at her in surprise. Emily shrugged.

"Found a shovel."

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><p><strong>AN 2: Just a few more parts. Thank you for hanging in there.**


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: There's probably about two more parts after this so hopefully it'll be finished before 2011 is over. Thank you for the kind comments and if you have a chance, I'd appreciate it if you leave some feedback. Thanks!**

* * *

><p>DiNozzo approached the greenhouse cautiously, his gun unholstered and before him. Quietly, he slipped in through a side door and paused to listen. He could hear the low murmur of voices about twenty yards in. He approached at an angle, hopefully out of the line of sight of whoever was talking. The various plants in the greenhouse gave him adequate cover, but they also obscured who was talking too.<p>

He peered around one particularly tall plant and blinked. He stepped forward and drew the attention of the couple who had been deep in a conversation.

Gibbs turned annoyed and unsurprised eyes towards his senior agent. "About time you got here, DiNozzo."

Tony glanced down at the two prone bodies that were tied up with-, was that a bra? He cocked his head as he tried to make out what was binding McKnight's hands together.

"DiNozzo!"

Gibbs' sharp voice made Tony's head snap up.

"Sorry boss," he apologized, but couldn't help but give McKnight's bonds another look. It definitely looked like a bra. "Are you and Emily alright?"

Gibbs nodded. "We're fine." Emily made a noise behind him and he sent an irritated look her way.

Not that Tony could blame her. Both of them were looking a little worse for wear. Along with her earlier injuries, Emily was now sporting a quickly darkening bruise on her cheek and Gibbs was looking a little glassy-eyed. DiNozzo gave his boss a hard look that the older man ignored.

"He got tasered," Emily explained, correctly interpreting his silent question. "And he's not completely over it."

"I'm fine," Gibbs said, the irritation growing on his face and in his voice.

A stubborn look that DiNozzo had not seen before began to settle over Emily's features and he took a small step back, ready to see what would happen next, but not wanting to be in the line of fire.

"Mmmm, so fine that McKnight basically pushed you over."

Gibbs whirled on her. "He caught me off guard."

Emily gave him a look. "My grandmother could have dodged that blow. Admit it, the taser has affected you. You need to go to the hospital to get checked out."

Tony took one more step back to avoid the eruption he knew was about to happen.

"I am _not_ going to the hospital," Gibbs said through gritted teeth.

"Fine, you don't go, I don't go," Emily replied calmly. She lifted her hand to her bruised cheek.

Gibbs' eyes flickered to the bruise while DiNozzo grinned. Oh, that was sneaky. Gibbs would naturally refuse to go to the hospital despite the fact an agent must be checked out after any injury and especially if they were held captive. Likely they were going to have to physically force him into an ambulance and then into the hospital and hold him down while a doctor, other than Ducky, checked him out. But Emily, playing on her own injury had boxed him in. Gibbs would not go for himself, but he wouldn't allow Emily _not_ to be checked out. And since Emily wasn't one of his agents, he couldn't order her either. She could refuse and it would be his fault. Check mate.

Gibbs gritted his teeth and made a growling sound in his throat. "Fine!" he snarled out as he stomped over to McKnight and Jacobs to check their restraints. They had to use Emily's ruined bra on McKnight but found a bit of twine to tie up Jacobs. Neither man had regained consciousness.

DiNozzo gave Emily a grin and sidled up next to her. "Nicely played."

She gave him a sideways smile. "I figured he wasn't going to not let me get checked out, though he's in worse shape than I am." She shivered and crossed her arms before her.

Tony glanced at her and noticed that the cold was affecting her in other ways besides shivering. He didn't realize he was staring at Emily's chest and what the cold was doing to a particular part of her until he felt the sharp smack on the back of his head.

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs yelled at him.

"Eyes averted, boss!" Tony yelped as Emily looked at them both with surprised eyes.

"Give her your jacket and then put your cuffs on these two yahoos. And give me your damn phone so I can call this in."

"Right boss!" Tony hastily slipped out of his NCIS windbreaker and draped it over Emily's shoulders before he handed over his cell phone to Gibbs and then made his way over to the two unconscious suspects.

Emily pulled the jacket closer around her and shuffled over to Gibbs where he was calling McGee to tell him to get the troops to wherever they were. "DiNozzo's here so wherever he was going. By himself. And when I get back, I want to have a talk with you three about sending an agent out solo!"

He ended the call and felt Emily huddle nearer to him. Without another thought he slipped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to help her stay warm.

* * *

><p>Deputy Wilson was almost right. The blizzard stopped after 12 hours. Then it took another six hours for crews to ready a runway at the small airport to allow the BAU jet to take off. It would have taken longer, but Hotch hounded them relentlessly. The speed with which they moved was more likely due to their wish to get the FBI man out of town and out of their hair.<p>

Nevertheless, after a rough take off and after encountering some turbulence while flying in Montana, they were on their way back to the East Coast. They were halfway there when an incoming call from Chief Strauss to Hotch brought welcomed news.

"Chief Strauss," Hotch said by way of greeting when he answered his cell phone. "Is she alright? Did you speak to her? I'm sorry, I'm not satisfied until someone has personally spoken to Agent Prentiss." There was a pause as he listened to Strauss and as everyone else gathered around his seat. "Chief Strauss, remember what happened 24 hours ago. We were told Agent Prentiss was injured and that the injuries were minor. However, when I spoke to her via video conference, it was very clear the injuries were _not_ minor. It's apparent that NCIS has a tendency to minimize what is really going on." There was another pause as Strauss respond. From the tight set of Hotch's jaw, the others deduced it wasn't what he wanted to hear. "You may be satisfied, ma'am, but I will not be until I personally speak to Agent Prentiss." Another pause and this time Aaron's grip on his phone tightened. "Yes ma'am. We'll be landing in a few hours. Goodbye."

He let out a growl the second the call was disconnected and was pressing the speed dial number for Emily. He ignored the rest of the team gathered around him. He made a noise of frustration when he heard Prentiss' voicemail greeting. "Prentiss, its Hotch. Call me the moment you get this message." He disconnected the call and still ignoring the others sat in his chair and brooded.

The rest of the team exchanged glances. The younger agents silently urged Rossi to question their Unit Chief. The older man rolled his eyes at their hesitation to approach Hotch.

"I take it they've found Emily and she's fine?" Dave finally asked.

"So they say, but we know NCIS hasn't been exactly forthcoming with all the pertinent information where Prentiss is concerned," sniped Hotch. He continued to stare before him, not looking once at the others.

"If she was hurt badly, I doubt they would hide it and Strauss would have ferreted it out too," Rossi said in a soothing tone.

"It's because of Strauss that Emily was in the line of fire in the first place!" Hotch was getting angrier by the second.

Rossi began to wave the others back, who knowing Emily was safe, were confused by Hotch's continued anger. However, they did as Rossi instructed and after they scattered to other parts of the plane, the older agent slipped into the seat across from Hotch's.

"Emily's fine and out of danger. You should be relieved." Rossi peered intently at his friend.

Hotch sighed. "I am. But…I just won't feel settled until I've seen her and had a chance…"

"To say you're sorry?"

Hotch looked at Rossi. "That's part of it." He scrubbed his face with one hand. "Things are such a mess between Prentiss and myself. Then knowing that something could have happened to her before I had a chance to make it right, well, it didn't leave me with a very good feeling."

"Then consider this a wake-up call of sorts. Don't let it go another day, Hotch."

Aaron shook his head. "No, I won't."

* * *

><p>"You didn't have to come home with me, I told you I was fine," Gibbs groused as Emily followed him into his house.<p>

She let out an inelegant snort as she switched on the lights and closed the door behind her. She followed Gibbs as he moved into the living room to sit heavily down on the couch. It was the first time she could recall him looking tired. The hospital had said he needed a good night's rest and should be fine in the morning, but that he shouldn't be alone either. Abby and Ducky had been at the hospital with him and she could see Gibbs looking a bit apprehensively that the anxious, hovering Abby would volunteer to spend the night with him. Ducky would have been the logical person, but Emily found herself volunteering. That had earned her a flat, annoyed look from Gibbs, a smile from Ducky and a slightly disappointed one from Abby.

"I could do it, Emily," Abby said a little wistfully. It wasn't often she had an opportunity to nurse Gibbs. Her face lighted up. "Or I could just join you both! You probably should get some rest too!"

Emily blanched. She liked Abby, but she suspected, like Gibbs, the young Goth would smoother them with loving attention when really they just needed to rest and get some sleep.

"Whoa, that sounds like a fun night. One man and two hot babes!" Tony said as he, Ziva and McGee walked in on the end of the conversation.

Ziva's hand came up to slap Tony on the back of his head. He glared at her. "Watch it, probie," he growled.

"I'm _fine_," Gibbs snapped. "I don't need a babysitter."

"Could have fooled me the way you're acting," Emily said crisply.

Team Gibbs held their breaths. Did she just say that to _Gibbs_? Normally, Emily wouldn't, but it was clear to her Gibbs needed help and he was just being too stubborn about it. Besides, she was tired, her bruised cheek was throbbing and her temper was short. Her conscience wouldn't allow her to let Gibbs go home alone and she suspected he would snap and bark at his team who were intimidated enough to actually leave him alone for the night. That left her to be Nurse Rachet.

Gibbs glared at her as Emily stood before him, her hands on her hips, matching him on the intensity of his glare. They stood there for nearly full minute in some weird version of a Mexican standoff, seeing who would blink first.

"No," Gibbs ground out in a growl.

"Yes," Emily's clear voice held no room for arguments.

They went back to staring at each other.

"It's like watching to alley cats," Tony whispered to Ziva.

"Shhh!" she hissed at him, fascinated by the power struggle between the two strong-willed individuals.

"Oh for pity's sake, Jethro! Take up Emily's gracious offer or I will tell them that you need to be admitted and I will have them strap you down to a bed and sedated!" Ducky finally cried out.

All eyes swiveled towards the older man who stood with his own glare on his face. Donald Mallard rarely lost his temper, but when he did, even Gibbs knew it was time to back off. This was one of those times and he knew that Ducky would carry out his threat, and do so with a gleeful heart.

Which was why Emily was currently fussing over Gibbs in his home as she made up his bed on the couch. She had inquired about his bedroom, but he indicated he preferred the lumpy sofa and she didn't think it was an argument worth having. So she simply neatly tucked some sheets into the cushions, fluffed up his pillows and pointed at it as Gibbs glared at her.

"You are not tucking me in," he snapped as he sat down on the freshly made bed.

"I wouldn't think of it," Emily returned sarcastically. She sighed and Gibbs felt slightly guilty. She had a bad 48 hours and looked utterly exhausted.

"I'm just going to turn in and you should too," Gibbs said gently. "You've had a rough time on this case."

She gave him a wry smile. "It's nothing I can't handle." She sat down next to him on his couch and touched his arm. "Thank you."

He looked at her curiously. "For what?"

"For believing in me. For trusting me. For treating me like an agent." She began to pick at her nails. "The last few weeks, on my own team, I-, I've felt some of them doubt me and it started to make me doubt myself."

Gibbs heart went out to this woman whom he had become extremely fond of and his opinion of her boss, Aaron Hotchner, slipped a couple of more notches. If Gibbs ever met the jerk…

His hand covered her so she would stop tearing at her nails. "Hey, look at me." When she looked into his face, his features softened and he said in a gentle tone. "You, Emily Prentiss, are a damn fine agent and a wonderful person. I'd be proud to have you on my team any day. You just say the word." He pulled her close to him and dropped a sweet kiss on the top of her head. "You did good, kid. You did real good."

* * *

><p><strong>AN 2: Yes, Emily's bra was incredibly useful and multi-functional!**


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: Best intentions. I tried to get this finished before the end of 2011, but it just wasn't in the cards. Well, almost there. Only one more part after this. Hope you enjoy and if you have a chance, let me know what you think. Thanks.**

* * *

><p>For the first time in he didn't know how long, Leroy Jethro Gibbs actually got a good night's sleep. Maybe it was finally all those sleepless nights catching up to him or what was more likely the cause, he was getting old and couldn't take something like a taser zap as well as he probably could have ten years ago. Either way, he woke up surprisingly refreshed and aside from some soreness, with almost no ill effects from yesterday's adventure.<p>

Sure, he had a few bruises, but nothing a hot shower and some coffee wouldn't take care of. Coffee. He sniffed and realized that coffee was already brewing and if he wasn't mistaken, he could smell bacon and eggs. His stomach grumbled and throwing back the covers he swung his legs off the couch and sat up. He blinked and sniffed again. Definitely bacon and eggs and…toast. He heard noises from the kitchen and a woman humming and for a second, he thought all was right in his world and Shannon was home.

But she wasn't, and he felt it crash upon him again.

Obviously, it was Emily in his kitchen making breakfast. Gibbs took a moment to steady himself, no need to drag Emily into his dark places because she inadvertently reminded him of all he had lost. When he thought he was ready, he stood up and walked into the kitchen.

She heard his step and turned around from the stove to greet him with a smile. "Good morning," she said. But then her smile faded.

Gibbs didn't know how she knew, he did have one of the best poker faces in the business, but somehow, Emily saw the distress and sadness in his eyes. She nodded her head gently and slid some bacon, eggs and toast onto a warm plate. She placed it on the small kitchen table where she had already two place settings and simply said to him, "Eat." It was a quiet command that brooked no argument and he didn't feel like one anyway.

As he sat down to dig into the food, she brought him a cup of hot coffee and joined him at the table with her own, much smaller plate. They ate in silence, Gibbs staring down at his plate as he ate with one hand, the other resting on the table. After a few minutes, Emily's hand gently reached out to the hand on the table and covered it with her own. She gave it a gentle squeeze and was about to pull back her hand, when Gibbs flipped his own over so he could thread his fingers through hers and gave her hand a return squeeze.

They continued to eat in silence, their hands joined, two souls who understood each other, and both letting the other know, they were not alone.

* * *

><p>Emily had driven Gibbs' car to his house and sometime in the evening, McGee and Ziva had brought over Emily's car and her cell phone. Gibbs had slept through that small exchange and was surprised that she suddenly announced she was leaving and going back to her apartment. She also was saying goodbye.<p>

Gibbs blinked. In the short amount of time he had been working with Emily, he had gotten used to her. She had integrated so seamlessly into the NCIS team and in his life that it hadn't occurred to him now that she would be out of it.

"Well, I guess then this is goodbye," Gibbs replied. He suddenly felt a little empty and sad. He didn't let people in often, but those who he did open up to, Gibbs clung to them ferociously. This beautiful woman was going back to her own life where she moved in circles that did not intersect with his own. Even in a professional capacity, he wasn't sure if he'd ever see her again. Unknowingly, Emily had begun to fill a bit of that emptiness in his life, much like how his team filled some of those spaces. He hadn't realized there was an Emily-shaped hole there until she had come along and filled it for him.

She tilted her head to the side and suddenly grinned at him. Emily surprised him when she stepped forward and gave him a warm hug, laughing all the while. "We live about a half hour from each other! Abby already wants me to go see a band with her next week and Ducky wants to have lunch to pick my brains about profiling." She stepped back and looked at Gibbs with merry and fond eyes. "We may not be working together, Gibbs, but don't think you'll be getting rid of me that easily. After all, you still owe me a new bra."

He gave her a grin and kissed her gently on her forehead. "Good to hear." He affectionately looked at her bruised and cut face. "I'm serious, you're family now, Emily."

She gave him a gentle smile and moved in to hug him again. "Thank you."

"Any time, kid."

* * *

><p>After Emily had left him to go back to her apartment, Gibbs had McGee track down Bella Dubois' home phone number and convinced her to meet him at the ungodly hour of 7:30 am at her shop. When he arrived at Bella's Closet, the woman was none too pleased. She would have hung up on the man, but he had mentioned Emily Prentiss and needing to buy something for her. Emily was one of her favorite and best customers and while Agent Prentiss had never dragged her down to her store at 7:30 am in the morning, she was willing to do this if she was involved in some way.<p>

"So what exactly is Emily's emergency that I can help with?" Bella asked as she unlocked the front door and turned off the alarm system. "An evening gown she needs to thwart an assassination attempt? Resort ware for undercover work in Palm Beach?"

"I need to buy Emily a bra," Gibbs stated flatly.

Bella paused and turned around slowly to look at Gibbs. "Pardon?"

"A bra," Gibbs repeated in irritation. "You sell them, right? I thought I saw them last time we were here. I don't know her size or anything and she said she liked shopping here so I thought you'd know what her size is and the kind she had."

"Had?" Bella still wore a stunned expression on her face.

Gibbs sighed in exasperation. "Her bra got ruined during our case and I said I would replace it."

"Ruined during a case?"

He glared at her this time. "Look, would you stop repeating everything I say? Can you sell me a bra or not?"

Bella snapped back to awareness. A sale was a sale and Emily Prentiss was not a cheap customer. She looked Gibbs up and down, taking in his middle class attire. "Emily has expensive taste in her clothing, especially her lingerie. Good foundational garments can be costly."

Gibbs waved the concern off. So it was probably forty bucks for a new bra. "Don't matter. She said it was one of her favorites. A gray thing with lace. I only got a glance at the tag. Something like 'pearl'."

Bella's face lit up. "Ahh yes! I know which model you're talking about and I distinctly remember Emily buying it a few months ago." She motioned for him to follow her upstairs where she took him to the lingerie department. Bella rooted around a display and triumphantly picked up a bra that did look like the one Emily had used to get them out of the locked room. "Here it is! And in her size too!"

"Fine, I'll take it," Gibbs replied as he reached for his wallet. When he saw Bella hesitate he looked at her. "Problem?"

"It's La Perla."

"Yeah?"

"It's $215."

Gibbs mind went blank but for one thought: _how the Hell could a bunch of fabric scraps cost $215?_

"But they last _forever_ and you just don't get the same fit and support with other bras," Bella continued. "Especially for a…generously endowed woman like Emily." She looked at Gibbs' still stunned face. "And of course you'll want the matching panties. That's another $125."

"Panties were over a $100?" Gibbs asked, his mind reeling.

"Really it's a thong."

_Even less material._

"Do you still want to buy them?"

Still in a state of shock, Gibbs handed over his credit card and Bella rang up the purchases, putting the set into a pretty gift box and expertly tying a bow around it. She carefully placed the box into one of her store shopping bags and handed it to Gibbs after he signed for the purchase.

He just knew he was going to get a call from his credit card company for buying hundreds of dollars worth of women's lingerie at 7:30 am.

As Bella steered a still sticker-shocked Gibbs out of her store and chattered on about how Emily would love her gift and what a considerate man he was to replace her lingerie.

"Because really, a good bra is so hard to find."

* * *

><p>The bullpen was dark and quiet, but Hotch had already been in the office for an hour. It was his routine to come in early to get a head start on the endless amount of paperwork that piled up on his desk. He liked this quiet time and quiet it always was, so even the faintest noise was enough to catch his attention, especially when it was earlier than when the next person was likely to appear.<p>

He stood up from his desk and peered out of his office window that over looked the bullpen. He saw a tall, gray-haired man standing next to Prentiss' desk, holding a pink shopping bag. The man turned and Hotch saw his profile and recognized him immediately. He moved swiftly out of his office and down the stairs until he stood a few feet from the stranger.

Gibbs had seen Hotchner peering at him from his office and waited until the man came to him. He didn't have to wait long, but he chose to ignore the younger man as he casually fished the gift box out of the shopping bag. It was a pink box that was tied up with a cream organza ribbon. "Bella's Closet" was written in gold script across the box. He could feel Hotchner's eyes taking in the gift and then shifting back to him.

Gibbs placed the box neatly on Emily's desk, raising his eyebrows at the fruit basket that was also sitting there. It was obviously a gift of some sort as it had a large purple bow on it. Slowly, he turned to face Hotchner.

The two men stared silently at each other. Hotch had about an inch or two on Gibbs, but Gibbs was broader, more solid. While Gibbs probably had at least ten years on Hotch, the younger man was not fooled into thinking that meant the NCIS agent was physically weaker. In those few seconds they stayed silent, each man sized up the other. No longer restricted by the limitations of video conferencing, each was trying to get a true feel for the man, and they discovered they had one thing in common:

Neither liked the other.

Both saw too much of themselves in the other man and when two alphas meet, there was bound to be sparks. Throw into that volatile mix a female, it was just a disaster waiting to happen.

However, both men also shared some of the finer qualities in a person and it prevented any blood being shed…that morning.

Hotch inclined his head in greeting. "Gibbs."

"Hotchner."

It wasn't the most scintillating opening, but it was adequate. They continued to stare at each other in silence for a few more seconds until Hotch asked,

"What can I do for you?"

Gibbs shook his head. "Nothing. Just came to drop off something for Emily."

Gibbs could see Hotch bristle at his use of Emily's name. In that moment, Gibbs had a small flash of insight into Hotch and his relationship with his team. Gibbs rode his team hard and it wasn't easy getting a compliment from him, but he always acknowledged good work and at times he was openly affectionate with each of them, some more than others. He remembered seeing the name "Hotch" flash on Emily's cellphone when he had called and how she referred to him by this nickname. However, during the video conference, Hotchner had only referred to her as "Agent Prentiss" or "Prentiss". So while his team members might feel or attempt to forge some closer relationship with him, Hotchner seemed to keep his agents at a distance. The FBI man probably didn't feel comfortable using Emily's first name, but likely wanted to if not for fear it might undermine his authority is some way.

_Idiot._

Hotch's eyes narrowed at the smirk on Gibbs' face. The NCIS agent's file warned him that this was not your typical jarhead who bulldozes his way through investigations. There was a lot more going on behind that "oh rah" façade he put out there. Hotch could see the intelligence behind those cold blue eyes and while he knew Gibbs didn't have the profiler training he and the rest of his team did, he suspected the older man knew more than just a little bit about human nature and how the mind worked, if just on the instinctual level.

_This man could be dangerous._

Hotch's eyes flicked towards the gift again. It was feminine and pretty and tied up in a bow. Obviously a personal gift. His jaw tightened. A very personal gift.

Gibbs' eyes narrowed slightly as he took in Hotchner's reaction and knew his first impression of the man that he got over the video conference was correct. There was something going on between this man and Emily. They probably weren't even aware of it, but something was poking at Hotchner on that deep man level, the one where it told you to just snarl at anyone you thought was a threat to what was yours.

_Okay, this might be fun._

"She did a terrific job on the case," Gibbs continued. His eyes turned serious. "That's one helluva an agent you've got there."

Gibbs watched as Hotchner's granite like features softened just slightly. "I know," he said in a quiet voice. Then his face hardened again. "However, I do not appreciate my agent getting injured helping you out on your case." His voice had gotten colder and while not much moved or bothered Gibbs, even he could feel the artic chill.

"Can't say I blame you. Something like that happened to one of my people, I'd be pissed off too," Gibbs replied easily, catching Hotch off-guard. He smirked at the younger man, but then grew serious. "Know this though, I'd do anything to go back and make sure she wasn't hurt those two times."

"_Two_ times?"

_Aww Hell, he doesn't know about the new bruises on her face,_ Gibbs sighed internally.

Hotch's face darkened and he took a step closer to Gibbs, his hands unconsciously curling into fists. Gibbs held his ground and stared blandly back at him. "Are you telling me, _Agent Gibbs_," he fairly spat out the other man's name, "Prentiss got hurt again?"

"Why do you have a problem saying her name? Emily isn't that hard to pronounce."

Hotch blinked at this unexpected response and pulled slightly back from Gibbs' space. "What?"

"Emily. Come on, just say it, Em-i-ly," Gibbs continued. "It's a pretty name. Why can't you just call her that? It's always 'Prentiss'. She calls you by your nickname, "Hotch". I've heard her. So why can't you stop being such a tight ass and call her Emily?"

Hotch stared at him and sputtered out, "That's irrelevant! I want to know if she got hurt again!"

Gibbs waved his hand dismissively. "She's tough and she did her job. But she can take it."

The affect was electrifying and Hotch let out a snarl and shoved his face into Gibbs'. "Don't say that! She shouldn't have to take it!"

Gibbs first instinct was to deck Hotchner, but something he saw in the FBI agent's eyes made him pause. In that one moment, Hotch let the other man see far more than he ever intended, than he would let most people see. Aaron pulled the remnants of his composure together and took a step back, taking in a deep breath. Gibbs eyed him closely.

"What happened to Emily?" Gibbs asked quietly.

Hotch wanted to tell the other man to screw off, but he didn't. He heard the concern in Gibbs' voice and despite what he might feel towards the man and his relationship with his agent, he knew the NCIS agent cared for Emily. "It was a few months ago in Colorado. Pren-, Emily, and another agent were supposed to do a simple assessment of some children living in a cult compound. They got caught in a sting operation no one informed us about. Then their cover was blown and the cult leader knew one of them was FBI. Emily took the fall to protect her fellow agent."

Gibbs took a deep breath, a variety of emotions roiling in his stomach. "What did he do to her?" his voice was harsh.

"Beat her," Hotch said flatly. "I had to sit there listening to her get beaten to Hell, wanting to go in, only having her tell me, 'I can take it.'"

Admiration for the pretty agent rose in Gibbs. "Helluva an agent and a woman."

"Helluva a human being," Hotch agreed. Almost to himself, the other man practically forgotten. "Just because she could take it, didn't mean I could."

Gibbs understood a lot more now about Hotchner's hyper-vigilance regarding Emily. Oh, there was something between them, of that Gibbs was sure. But add to it this episode where he had to listen to her be beaten and not be able to do anything about it, well, that was enough to screw with any man's head and heart.

"As much as you care about someone, you can't protect them every single moment of the day," Gibbs began quietly. Hotch shot him a hard look. "But you have to trust your agents to do their job."

"I do trust her-"

"Then act like it!" Gibbs snapped. "Like I said, if I could have prevented Emily getting hurt, I would have, but she did her job as an agent. It might scare the Hell out of you when she does get hurt, might make you mad as Hell, but don't take it out on her!"

Hotch glared at him, but realized the older man was right. He had been taking it out on Emily, only because he cared and worried so much. His face relaxed marginally. "I thought I was taking it out on you."

"Well, I think it's best taken out on the bastards who hurt her."

Hotch tilted his head. "Did you get them?"

"Oh yeah. The cult bastard?"

"Dead."

"Glad to hear it."

Neither man seemed to have anything else to say. Nothing was settled and neither man liked the other any more than he did the day before. Emily Prentiss was still an issue between them, and both men knew she was going to continue to be one. They both cared about her and thought she was better off without the other in her life. But that was for Emily to decide, not them.

"I've got to get going," Gibbs said. He fished an envelope out of his coat pocket and set it on top of the gift. He glanced at the fruit basket and looked up at Hotch. "If you want to apologize to her, don't give her fruit. Four wives taught me that much." Without another word to Hotch, he turned on his heel and started to walk out of the bullpen. At the glass doors, he ran into Morgan, Garcia, and JJ. The three stepped aside as he moved past them without a glance.

"Was that-?" Garcia asked her two companions breathlessly.

"Gibbs," JJ replied in stunned tone.

Morgan looked at Hotch who stared stonily after Gibbs'. He met Derek's eyes and then abruptly snatched the fruit basket off of Emily's desk and stalked off towards his office.

* * *

><p>As Gibbs made his way across the lobby of the FBI building his cell phone rang. "Gibbs."<p>

"Mr. Gibbs? This is Kim at Fidelity Bank. We've noticed some unusual transactions on your credit card and wanted to make sure that you were the actual purchaser."


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: Well, this was supposed to be the last part, but it was getting to be too long, so I've broken it up into two parts. My apologies that this story will be going on just a little bit longer than anticipated. Hope you enjoy this part.**

* * *

><p>The pink box tied with the cream silk organza ribbon teased them mercilessly. Five pairs of eyes in the bullpen and one from Hotch's office eyed it continuously, closely and curiously. Unmarked packages from terrorists didn't receive as much scrutiny as the BAU team now were giving the gift Agent Gibbs left on Emily's desk.<p>

"What do you think it is?" Reid asked. He and Rossi had walked in minutes after Gibbs left and were quickly briefed on what happened.

"Bella's Closet is Em's favorite boutique," Garcia replied. "Pri-cey. Whatever he got her there, it wasn't cheap."

"And they sell everything there so it can be jewelry or perfume or a piece of clothing," JJ added in a vexed tone. She looked at the box. "Too small for a dress, sweater, coat, skirt, pants, blazer, shoes. Too big for jewelry."

"Unless it's one of those big collar necklaces," Garcia chimed in.

"Not really Em's style," JJ mused.

"Gibbs might not know that." Garcia tilted her head to the side. "Could be a scarf."

"She doesn't wear scarves," JJ protested.

"Some nice cashmere winter scarf," the tech analyst elaborated.

"I think the more interesting question is why he's buying her a gift," Rossi interjected.

"Probably as a thank you for helping on the case," Reid added, having grown bored with the women's speculation as to what was inside the box.

"I'm dying to know what's in it!" Garcia's eyes glittered dangerously, her fingers twitching.

"No, Garcia, you can't!" JJ warned her.

"Momma, that's crossing a line," Morgan added.

"Oh, I know," the bespectacled blonde sighed. "I just want to know what Agent Gruff & Yummy got her."

Hotch resisted the urge to slam his office door closed. Because his team were the only ones in the bullpen so far, it was relatively quiet and he could hear every word of their conversation. The last thing he wanted to hear was someone describing Gibbs as "Agent Gruff & Yummy". But he had to admit, his own curiosity was piqued as well by the gift on Prentiss' desk. He knew Gibbs was the type of man who didn't do anything without a reason and to give someone a gift, especially something from what he gathered was an expensive boutique, meant more than a simple, "thank you, job well done." Hotch had heard admiration for Emily in the other man's voice when he spoke of her, admiration and something else: affection.

What lay behind that affection, he wasn't sure, and Hotch wasn't certain if he really wanted to know. Sometimes ignorance really can be bliss. He glanced over at the small basket of fruit that sat on his credenza, the purple bow almost mocking him for his poor choice of gifts in comparison to whatever Gibbs got Emily from what apparently is her favorite boutique. How the man even knew that about Prentiss, Hotch did not know. Even he didn't have that information and he had known the woman for over two years and Gibbs had known her for less than a week.

"Em!"

Garcia's squeal caused his head to snap around and Hotch hurried over to his window. He looked through the blinds and could see his brunette agent walking into the bullpen. Even from his office he could see the white bandage on her forehead and what was a spectacular bruise on one cheek. Anger over her injuries welled up inside of him and Hotch took a moment to calm himself before he went down to speak to Emily.

As she walked into the bullpen, Emily could see her teammates gathered around her desk. Garcia spotted her first and let out a loud cry that had everyone turning around. Fortunately, it was only her team in the bullpen so there was no audience.

"Em!" Garcia darted forward to hug her friend. She pulled back from Emily and looked anxiously into her face. "Oh, my poor peach!"

Prentiss smiled at her. "It's okay, Garcia. It looks worse than it really is."

"Damn, Prentiss," Morgan whistled as he came forward with the rest of the team. He peered into her face "That's a helluva bruise. I hope the other guy looks worse."

Remembering the hard hit she had delivered with the shovel to McKnight's head, Emily smile was just a touch on the evil side. "Oh trust me, he got a taste of his own medicine."

"So how was it working with NCIS and Agent Gibbs," JJ asked, her eyes lit up with curiosity. "He seems like he would be a real bear to deal with."

"Actually, he was fine to work with. I really enjoyed it and his team was great. He might come off gruff, but there's a lot there with Gibbs. He's a great agent and he really cares about his team and the work." She didn't say it aloud, but she knew he cared about her too and watched out for her as best he could. Her minor injuries were not his fault and Gibbs made sure she got proper treatment for them. But more importantly to Emily, she knew he respected and liked her. He trusted her judgment and her abilities.

She didn't realize it, but even though Emily didn't vocalize all of her thoughts about Gibbs, everyone could see how her eyes and features had softened slightly when talking about a man of whom they had only seen the difficult side of. The other BAU team members glanced at each other uncertainly, not sure what to make of what was some obvious affection their teammate held for the cranky NCIS agent.

"He left you a gift," Reid said quietly.

"Gibbs?" Emily's voice held surprise. She walked over to her desk and saw the distinctive Bella's Closet box and a sweet smile appeared on her lips. "That man does work fast," she murmured.

Her eyes were on the gift and she didn't hear Hotch come up behind her, but he heard her soft words and he wondered just _how_ fast Agent Gibbs worked.

"Prentiss," Hotch cleared his throat to get her attention.

Emily straightened up and turned slowly around, giving her time to compose her face into that neutral, professional mask she wore so often around him. "Sir," she said by way of greeting.

His eyes traveled over her features, taking in the cuts and bruises. Something flickered in his eyes and Emily was startled. He was always so good at hiding his emotions that even this tiny lapse was surprising. It happened too quickly to figure out what it was, but he had never shown any emotion with her before, except suspicion and anger. She wondered what brought this on.

Hotch felt his hand twitch, wanting to reach out to touch her. It was to examine her injuries more closely, he told himself, though on some deep level that he refused to consciously acknowledge, that wasn't the only reason he wanted to touch her. She looked worse than she did on the video conference a few days ago, but there was something in her eyes. A light that had been missing the last few weeks as she dealt with her friend Matthew's death and the dredging up of whatever memories seemed to haunt her from that case. There was a light in her eyes that had been missing and with a pang, he wondered if Gibbs had put it there.

The others had been watching Hotch and Emily's reunion with curious eyes. They knew something was up between the two, though what it was remained to be seen. Avidly, they observed them as the two simply stared at each other, waiting for the other person to talk.

"Agent Prentiss."

The cool voice of Erin Strauss drew everyone's attention. She sailed forward and nodded to Hotch and the others before turning to Emily. She made a small grimace seeing the injuries to the younger woman, but continued with her original intent.

"Congratulations on a job well done at NCIS," Strauss continued.

"Thank you, ma'am," Emily said warily.

A smug smile appeared on her face. "You made quite an impression there. Director Vance hasn't stopped raving about you. He was especially impressed by how well you worked with Agent Gibbs." She made a moue of distaste, remembering her own encounter with the difficult man. "Not an easy task." Her eyes took on a sly glint. "And your creativity yesterday is to be commended. I would have never thought that piece of clothing could be so…versatile." Her eyes flickered towards the gift still sitting on Emily's desk. "Ahhhh, it looks someone might have replaced it." Her smirk widened. "Agent Gibbs, I presume. That was incredibly thoughtful of him." She nodded her head. "Again, well done, Agent Prentiss." With that, she turned on her heel and sailed out of the bullpen.

The team was silent for a moment and then both JJ and Garcia dove for the gift.

"I've got to find out what he gave you!" Garcia cried out.

Emily threw herself at the box and caught one end while JJ and Garcia had the other. The men scrambled out of the way and Hotch stared at his female team members in shock and horror.

"Let go!" Emily cried out, trying to tug the gift out of the blondes' hands.

"Not until we see what it is!" JJ shot back.

"Stop this immediately!" Hotch snapped out. "This is no way to behave-!"

His sentence was cut off when the top of the box suddenly slipped and came undone. Clutching the lid, Emily stumbled back into Hotch where he instinctively caught her to keep her from falling, and held her close to his chest. Rossi and Morgan did the same for the two blondes who held the bottom of the box between them.

The contents flew up into the air in a shower of pale pink tissue paper. The heavier lingerie fell loose from the light wrapping and landed with a soft plop on the floor. The all looked in surprise at the pretty, gray lace bra and thong.

Her cheeks burning from embarrassment, Emily was surprised to hear herself blurting out, "Oh, he bought me the matching thong too."

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><p><strong>AN 2: I know the tug-of-war the ladies had over the gift was a little OOC, but I thought a bit of humor needed to be injected. I also don't see this is too much OOC for these three, but they likely wouldn't have done it in the bullpen in front of Hotch. But I just had to get the contents of the box out there and you knew Emily wouldn't tell them what was in it!**


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: And here it is, the last part to this story. As I mentioned earlier, this is the first story in what will be at least a three story arc. The way Criminal Minds and NCIS is turning out this season, there might be a fourth story, but definitely three stories here. **

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><p><em>Emily Prentiss' bra and panties were lying on the floor of the BAU.<em>

Those were words that Hotch never thought would ever be strung together, but it was the thought that popped into his head first. Then the next thought was why was Agent Gibbs buying Emily a bra and panties? Correction thong. That was even worse. Unconsciously, he tightened his grip on the woman in question.

Emily's other teammates stared incredulously at her. What type of gift was _that_?

Hotch could see shock and surprise on JJ and Garcia's faces. Reid was trying to curl up into a ball of embarrassment. Morgan looked angry and suspicious and Rossi, well, damn Dave, he looked amused and not fazed at all by the events. But then again, bras and thongs on the floor of the BAU was probably something Rossi had seen before. Hotch scowled darkly at the older man who simply lifted his eyebrow up in a mild, questioning look.

Her cheeks still burning, Emily pulled herself away from Hotch's hold and bent down to pick up her _private_ gift. Watching Emily bend down, Hotch imagined what she might look like in the lacy gray underwear and almost slapped himself for even having such a thought. Looking up he saw his male colleagues minds had wandered down the same path his had and he shot them all a glare. Morgan and Reid had the grace to look embarrassed, but Rossi merely smirked back at him, causing Hotch to frown more deeply.

Garcia, feeling badly about how she had behaved, bent down to help Prentiss. She picked up the bra and noticed the label. The tech analyst let out a small gasp.

"It's La Perla!"

"Wow!" JJ's eyes were round. "He must have dropped a fortune to get that for you." She looked slyly at Emily. "That was some impression you must have made on Agent Gibbs."

"Seriously, Em," Morgan began, a slight frown of concern on his face. "Just what did go down between you and Gibbs?" He moved forward and crossed his arms over his chest, looking every inch the protective older brother. "Why is he giving you underwear, Princess?"

Emily began to open her mouth to say they were getting the wrong idea when she looked around at the faces surrounding her. Slowly, she closed her mouth. Really, it wasn't any of their business. She didn't conduct herself improperly at all and she did a damn good job working with NCIS. The Ice Queen herself even complimented her in front of everyone and even said Director Vance was raving about her. If Gibbs wanted to give her this gift, it didn't concern them and if they hadn't been prying into her personal business in the first place, they never would have known.

And besides, not letting them know the whole story will just drive each and every one of them nuts.

Emily stood up and carefully wrapped the pretty lingerie back up in the pink tissue paper. She gazed pointedly at JJ and held out her hand for the bottom of the gift box before putting the gray set back into it and closing the lid. She then noticed the card Gibbs had left. Emily opened it up, read the brief message which caused her to smile softly before slipping the card into her blazer pocket and the gift into a desk drawer. She then pulled out her chair, sat down and began to go through her inbox.

The rest of the team exchanged glances. Garcia blurted out, "You mean you're not going to tell us?"

"Nope," Emily replied as she booted up her computer, for a moment sounding eerily like Gibbs.

"Oh, come on, Em," JJ protested. "You have to let us know what happened."

"No I don't," Emily replied as she logged on.

"Prentiss, that's not fair," Morgan protested. "I have to know if I need to go have a talk with this Gibbs or not."

Emily almost snapped at him to stay out of her business, but held herself back. Instead, with a nonchalant shrug she knew would drive the handsome man even more insane, she simply said, "Good luck with that, but don't let the gray hair fool you. Gibbs is _very_ fit." She gave him a saucy wink that had Morgan taken aback and added more fuel to Garcia and JJ's burning curiosity.

The three of them began to bombard Emily with questions.

"Ooooh! Did you see Gibbs au naturel?" Garcia asked.

"What happened the night you spent at his place?" JJ queried.

"You don't think I can take, Gibbs?" Morgan sputtered.

"Are his abs better than Morgan's?" JJ fired out.

Morgan stared at the young blonde. "What do you mean by _that_?"

"I'm just asking," JJ shrugged.

"Enough!" Hotch roared out. He glared at his team and Morgan, JJ and Garcia shrank back a little. "This is no way to behave! Prentiss is right, whatever happened between herself and," there was just the slightest pause before he continued, "Gibbs, is her business. According to Chief Strauss, we have nothing but pride to feel on how Emily represented us while working with NCIS." He swung his glare again at the three nosiest members. They nodded reluctantly. Hotch looked over at Reid who seemed relieved the whole incident was over and then over at Rossi. The oldest member simply looked bored, but he did catch Aaron's eye and then glanced at Emily and back at the Unit Leader. Rossi's message was clear.

_You'd better take this opportunity to clear the air with her._

"Thank you, sir," Emily replied primly as she calmly opened up her email program.

"Now, I think there's a lot of follow up paperwork that needs to be done for our case in Montana," Hotch continued. One more glare sent them back to their desks. He stood there next to Emily's desk, watching and making certain everyone was following his orders before his attention went back to the brunette. "Prentiss, a word in my office if you please."

He was standing over her so all he saw was the top of Emily's dark head. He saw her hesitate a moment before she nodded. With one hand on the back of her chair, he helped pull it back as she stood. Without looking directly at him, she edged past him to the short flight of stairs up to his office. Hotch swung one more glare around the room at his team before his eyes settled last on Rossi who gave him an encouraging look. Hotch turned around and followed Emily up to his office.

As he closed the door behind him, he saw she had already taken a seat in one of the visitor chairs before his desk. Her hands were folded neatly on her lap, but he could see one finger already worrying the cuticle on another finger.

Hotch came around to the other side of the desk so he could sit in his chair. He looked at Emily who gave him a mildly inquiring look. "Congratulations on the work you did with NCIS. I don't have all the details but given Chief Strauss' reactions, it sounds like it was a very successful inter-agency partnership."

"Thank you, sir," she replied. "I enjoyed working with Agent Gibbs and his team."

He was letting the "sir's" slide though they were getting on his nerves and he really didn't want to talk about Gibbs. However much he was dying to know more about the gift, Hotch would rather walk over broken glass in bare feet before admitting it. Instead he changed topics completely. He cleared his throat. "I do want to know how you're doing. It has only been a short time since…Matthew and the case with Father Silvano."

He saw her tense ever so slightly and sighed silently. This was still going to be an issue between them. Rossi was right, he needed to clear the air.

"I can assure you that I'm fit for duty as my work with NCIS showed-," she began in a tight voice.

Hotch held up his hand. "That's not what I'm asking. I'm asking you as your friend, Emily, are you doing okay?"

He could see the suspicion in her eyes, wondering if he was going to take anything he said and use it against her. There was definitely a long way to go between them.

"I obviously still mourn the loss of my friend," she replied cautiously. "But I think I'm ready to come back to work. I know I'm ready."

"I think so too," Hotch replied with a slight smile. "Prentiss, it was never about your abilities as an agent that worried me. You had just been through so much the last few months that I wanted to make sure you were okay. You are perhaps one of the best agents I've ever seen come through the Bureau, nevermind the BAU. But we all have our moments when we need to take a step back. To take a break."

"Even you, Hotch?" she challenged, knowing that he didn't follow his own advice.

"Touche, but yes, even me. Which is why there's always someone there who will tell me to go and take that break. Usually Dave. We're a lot alike, Emily, too stubborn and too committed. But just like I need someone to tell me to step back, so do you. Sometimes we're so close, do deep, we don't see when we're drowning. Hopefully, someone close to us will."

He looked intently at her with an expression in his eyes she could not read. It was so dark and intense that it set off a nervous flutter in her stomach and she could feel heat building in her lower belly, in her cheeks, turning them slightly pink. She saw Hotch cataloguing her physical reaction and something even darker flared in his eyes.

"And you're that someone for me?" she asked quietly.

Hotch swallowed, thrown by what had suddenly started to manifest itself in the atmosphere between them. The air was suddenly thick, heated and charged with an electricity that fairly crackled. Somehow, this conversation seemed to have turned into something else. What he wasn't sure, but he knew they were beginning to tread in some dangerous waters, waters neither of them were likely prepared to deal with.

"As your Unit Leader, that's my job."

It was like dousing the heated air between them with a cold buck of water and they were both snapped back to the present. Unconsciously because they did not know they had been leaning forward, both Hotch and Emily sat back in their chairs.

"Well, thank, Hotch. Glad to know you have my back," Emily replied.

"It goes for what happened this week," Hotch continued. "During the video conference call with NCIS. I was upset with Gibbs, not you. He shouldn't have put you into any dangerous situation at all." He held up his hand when she started to speak. "Again, it's not about your abilities. You're mine-, one of my team members, and the agent in charge should know better. I'm sure Gibbs would have felt the same if the roles had been reversed. I'm sorry if it felt like I was criticizing you. That was not the case."

She stared at him and gave him a small smile. Emily didn't think she had ever heard Hotch apologize before. He definitely had never complimented her work and she got both from him in a span of ten minutes. Would wonders never cease? "Thank you, si-, Hotch."

He smiled again at the use of his nickname. For a second, he debated whether or not to give her the gift, but then thought what the hell? Hotch reached around behind him to pick up the fruit basket from the credenza. It might not be overly-priced lingerie, but the sincerity of the gift was definitely there. "It's nothing fancy," he began, "But its a little welcome back gift."

Emily was a little surprised to receive anything. As far as gifts were concerned, Hotch typically gave each team member a gift card to the coffee place they all went to at Christmas and on their birthdays, he treated to lunch. Maybe he gave something more to Rossi and she knew he had given JJ a baby gift, but that was it. It was a small basket that had some beautiful pears, dried fruits and nuts and a small box of chocolates in it. A purple ribbon was tied around it and Emily recognized the basket as being something from Harry and David. She smiled at him.

"Thank you, though I'll have a hard time keeping Reid and Morgan out of it," she replied. "Thank you, Hotch. It was very kind of you."

"Let me know if they give you too much trouble," Hotch replied. He stood and Emily got the cue that their meeting was over. He held his hand out to her. "Welcome back, Agent Prentiss."

She grinned at his formality and put her hand in his. "Thank you, Agent Hotchner."

They shook hands, but as she started to pull back, she felt his grip on her hand tighten and she paused. Once more, their eyes locked and something seemed to pass between them, some indescribable heat that both thrilled and frightened them both. His thumb stroked the back of her hand ever so softly and she felt her breath catch.

"I'm glad you're back, Emily," he said softly.

"Me too," she whispered.

Almost reluctantly, he let her soft hand go. Emily picked up her fruit basket and made her way over to the door, she pulled it open and with one more small smile at him, left and went back to her desk. Hotch watched her from his window as she set her fruit basket down, ignoring Morgan's questions. He saw her pause as she started to sit down and then pull something from her blazer pocket. It was Gibbs' card. Irrational irritation flooded Hotch's body as he saw her glance at the card and then put it back into her blazer with a small pat on her pocket. Emily sat back down at her desk and started to work.

He wouldn't admit it, but not knowing why Gibbs gave Emily the bra and thong set and what exactly he wrote in his card to her was driving Hotch crazy. But he could never ask and would likely never know. But that still didn't mean it wouldn't bother him for a long time.

Emily pulled her keyboard towards her, renewed confidence filling her. She wouldn't admit it, but Matthew's case had definitely thrown her off-balance and her confidence was further shaken by what she thought was Hotch's lack of faith in her and her abilities. She was just glad that he had re-assured her of his belief in her, but her confidence had already begun to be built back up thanks to her time at NCIS.

Her hand stole down to the outside of her blazer pocket and she patted it again, touching it like some lucky talisman as she remembered the words Gibbs had written on it:

"_Rule #5 – You don't waste good. You Emily Prentiss are good. Anyone else who has a different opinion, tell them to come see me. Gibbs."_

Emily smiled, patted her pocket one more time and began her work.

Fini.

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><p><strong>AN 2: I want to thank everyone for the kind comments they've given me throughout this story. I'm actually not a fan of crossovers myself, so I was surprised I undertook this. It just felt right having these two teams meet at some point. Emily Prentiss is my favorite character so it was an obvious choice for me to make her the connection point. I am surprised by the amount of people who seem to favor an Emily/Gibbs pairing. I'm glad I made that relationship convincing enough for people to see the possibility of it, but I do have a plan for the story arc, so folks will just have to wait and see what happens next. I don't really see those two as being romantically involved, but I do agree, from my set up, there is a deep connection between them.**

**So I hope you enjoyed this story. I'm trying to finish up a few more stories before I get started on the second story in this Criminal Minds/NCIS crossover arc. Just know that the next story, yes, while Emily will again be heavily featured, that story is really going to be about Gibbs and Hotch because for the first time Team Gibbs and Team Hotch will have to work together on a case where something from Emily's past will have both men more protective of her than ever. And no, I'm not talking about Doyle. Stay tuned. Thanks again!**


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: For those who have been waiting, the sequel is up! It's called "Perfect" and can be found in the NCIS/CM crossover section. Here's a taste!**

"_The perfect woman is a higher type of human than the perfect man, and also something much more rare."_

_Friedrich Nietzsche_

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><p>It was a cold night that the lack of moon and starlight seemed to make all the chillier. It was a night where even the regular nocturnal scavengers decided to remain in their hidden nests and dens. The cold seemed to have frozen the city in a dark crystal, the city holding its breath waiting for something to occur. And when there was movement, a flicker, it shattered the brittle stillness of the winter air into many shards of cutting glass.<p>

Had anyone or thing been around to see it, they would not have been able to discern if it was a man or a woman or to the more fanciful, if the dark figure was even human. It was an indistinct blob that appeared to have a large humped back and a strange gait. The shadow moved awkwardly, a labored walk as it shuffled towards the dense vegetation that lined the pathway. It paused and then with a soft grunt, it unburdened itself of the object on its shoulder. The dark blanket unfurled and a startling flash of white appeared from within the woolen folds. Leaves and small twigs crackled as the white object tumbled over several times before settling into a nest of vines and low bushes at the bottom of the slope it had just rolled down.

The shadow observed its work for a moment and then, moving much more freely than it had a minute before, melted back into the cold dark.

The night was still once more.


End file.
